Summer Lovin', Had Me a Blast
by nowwecansee
Summary: A sequel to my original story, 'All That Matters Is Your Hand In Mine'.
1. Chapter 1

Kurt Hummel woke up on the first day of summer, feeling content, but far too warm. He stretched his arm out, looking for Blaine...and his heart sank when he realized that Blaine wasn't there.

Blaine Anderson was Kurt's boyfriend, and they were in love, thank you very much. Kurt allowed himself a moment to revel in this thought, thinking over the events of the past year. A lot had happened. A lot had changed. But all for the better, Kurt thought.

Blaine had gotten sick, real sick. He'd had liver cancer, but his mom-the same woman who stood by and allowed her son to be thrown out by his homophobic father-had stepped in at literally the last moment and saved the day. While Blaine was sick, and essentially homeless, he'd lived with Kurt and his family for a few months, and together they'd been through a lot. Hate and pain and trouble, of course, but also love and affection...and cuddling. Lots of cuddling.

But not anymore, because now Blaine was living with his mom in a new apartment. It wasn't that far away, but still too far for Kurt's liking. Especially when it was the first morning of their first summer together and he was suddenly without a breakfast partner.

He rolled over and hugged his pillow tightly, eyes closed as he tried to create the illusion.

Yup. Not even close.

He rolled back over and checked the red numbers on his digital alarm clock. 10:19. Was it too early? Blaine liked to sleep in, and Kurt didn't want to be the pathetic clingy boyfriend...but before he could make a decision, his phone dinged.

"Hello?" he said, trying not to sound like he'd been waiting for this call all morning.

"Hey Kurt," Blaine said on the other end of the line, and Kurt was pretty sure he was smiling, which made him smile. "What's up?"

"Nothing really," Kurt said, mentally kicking himself for not being more eloquent. "I just woke up."

"Me too," Blaine laughed. "And my mom went out somewhere, so..."

"So...?"

"So do you wanna do something?"

"Sure!" Kurt said, sitting up immediately. "Want to come over? We can have brunch. It's just me here right now."

Blaine laughed again. "You and your brunch."

"Fine then, I'll have brunch and you can sit and watch."

"Did I mention that I love brunch? And you?"

Kurt smiled. "I love you too."

"Change of plans," Kurt said, opening the front door for Blaine a half hour later.

"Well hello to you too," Blaine said, putting a hand on Kurt's waist and giving him a swift kiss on the lips that made Kurt's stomach flutter, as per usual. "So now what are we doing?"

"I was going to start cooking to have it ready when you got here," Kurt explained, leading him into the kitchen where Blaine promptly seated himself on the counter, kicking off his shoes and swinging his legs. Kurt rolled his eyes and continued. "And I went to get the flour for pancakes when I realized we're out. We're out of a lot of stuff actually, so...we're going grocery shopping!" He spread his arms wide, ta-da style.

Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Grocery shopping?"

"It'll be fun!" Kurt said. "Please go with me?"

Blaine pretended to mull it over. "Hm...fine. But only if I get to ride in the cart!"

"Fat chance," Kurt laughed.

"Well then no deal!"

"How about a kiss instead?" Kurt said, moving closer to him and cupping his face. He locked their eyes for a moment before pressing his lips to Blaine's.

"You play dirty," Blaine said breathlessly a minute later, when Kurt pulled away, and Kurt laughed again.

"Whatever gets the job done," he said with a wink, and Blaine hopped off the counter, stepping back into his shoes.

"Wait," Kurt said, still standing by the pantry. "Where are you going?"

"Uh...grocery shopping?" Blaine answered uncertainly, and Kurt walked over to him, shaking his head.

"No no no, silly boy!" he said, leading Blaine back to the kitchen table. "We have to make a list first!"

"Why?" Blaine groaned, slouching on the table and putting his chin in his palm.

"Because how else will I be sure to get everything I need?" Kurt said, glancing over his shoulder as he surveyed the pantry, tapping his chin with a pen.

"You make a fair point," Blaine said, and his stomach rumbled audibly. "But, um, can we hurry up? I'm starved."

Twenty minutes and one coffee run later, Kurt and Blaine were strolling through the automatic doors of the air-conditioned supermarket. Blaine skipped forward, tugging Kurt's hand as he grabbed a cart. He pushed with one hand and so did Kurt; keeping their hands twined between them.

"So what's first on the list?" Blaine said, swinging their hands a little.

"Let me check," Kurt said, letting go of the cart to fish the paper out of his pocket. The cart veered to Blaine's side, almost knocking over a cereal display. "Easy there, cowboy!" Kurt said, letting go of Blaine to grab the cart with both hands.

"I like it when you call me cowboy," Blaine winked, stepping forward and jumping into the basket. Kurt immediately jerked the cart to a stop.

"Get out," he said, narrowing his eyes at his boyfriend.

"Nnnnnno!" Blaine said, stretching out the word and laughing.

"Get out!" Kurt commanded again, shaking the cart. "Get oooouttttt!"

"Whoa, earthquake!" Blaine said, gripping the sides of the cart. "Save yourself, Kurt!"

"Blaine, sh!" Kurt said, his cheeks growing pink. "People are starting to stare!"

"It's because you're so handsome," Blaine said, suddenly mere centimeters away from Kurt's face.

"Oh p-please," Kurt stammered, trying to keep his focus. But it was hard, especially with the way Blaine's warm breath washed over his face like it was. Blaine fluttered his lashes and grinned, sitting back down. "Onward!" he cried, raising his fist into the air. "For Narnia!"

All Kurt could do was roll his eyes and try to not to burst with affection.

"I think at this. point it's pretty much pointless to think about brunch for today," Kurt said, pushing the cart down the first aisle. "So maybe we could get some stuff for a picnic, plus what's on the list."

"Brownies!" Blaine said, reaching his arm out of the cart as they passed the Little Debbie section, but Kurt steered the cart so he could no longer reach them.

"Behave yourself and we'll see," Kurt said, his eyes scanning down the paper in his hand.

"What's on that mysterious list of yours, o' Wise Kurt?" Blaine said, leaning forward to snatch it from him.

"Ow!" Kurt cried. "You gave me a paper cut!"

"Oh no!" Blaine said, the corners of his mouth falling in genuine concern. "I'm sorry! Let me see!" he said, reaching for Kurt's hand. He held Kurt's finger under his eyes for a moment, then pressed his lips to the small cut. "Better?"

"Yes," Kurt said, pushing the cart again. "But it still hurt."

"I love you!" Blaine reminded him.

"And I love you," Kurt said, dropping a package of Cosmic Brownies into the cart.

"Picnic, picnic, yay yay yay!" Blaine cried, throwing the door of the car open as soon as Kurt put the car in park. "Remember when I used to have to beg you to go on picnics?"

"That was one time!" Kurt protested, pulling the basket out of the backseat. "And it was freezing."

"It isn't anymore, though," Blaine pointed out, seizing Kurt's free hand.

"I know," Kurt replied, leading the way up the hill to their favorite tree. "And that's why I suggested it."

"Tis a grand idea!" Blaine said theatrically, pulling his hand away from Kurt's so he could spread their blanket and holding out his hand to help Kurt sit down.

"I agree," Kurt said, handing Blaine a Cosmic Brownie, which he eagerly tore open.

"Remind me again how I convinced you to buy these?" Blaine said, picking one of the candies off and dropping it in his mouth.

"To be honest, I'm not sure," Kurt said, reading the back of the box with a bemused expression. "These things are terrible for you."

"That's because they're one of those simple pleasures you enjoy without trying to see what's inside," Blaine, said, taking the box from Kurt and setting it on the ground as he crawled over to kiss Kurt. "Like a kiss," he breathed, putting a hand on his boyfriend's cheek.

"You taste like Cosmic Brownies," Kurt said, breaking the kiss to giggle.

"And you taste like perfection."

I love summer, Kurt thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oh my gosh, it's been so so so long since I updated and I'm really really sorry! I'm on summer break now and things have just been really crazy...but they're beginning to calm down so I'll have more time to write :]**

**Oh, and if you haven't noticed...I've changed the rating. But I have it arranged in a way that (hopefully) you can conveniently skip over it if you so desire.**

**So, without further ado...here it is!**

* * *

><p>"I miss this," Blaine was saying later that day. It was almost nine in the evening, and they had spent all day together; at the park, driving around, seeing a movie, getting dinner...and now they were on Blaine's new bed in his new apartment, Kurt's head on a pillow and Blaine's head at the opposite end.<p>

"Me too," Kurt said softly, closing his eyes. This new bed didn't smell like Blaine yet, not like his still did.

"I get lonely at night," Blaine said, and Kurt felt him press a quick kiss to his ankle. He curled his toes in response.

"I guess we'll just have to make up for it during the day."

Blaine sat up, frowning. "That's not what I meant."

Kurt opened one eye, looking up at him. "Then what did you mean?"

"Well-" Blaine stopped himself and dropped his gaze, but now Kurt was curious.

"What is it?" Kurt said, sitting up. "Tell me." Blaine didn't answer. "Please?" Kurt whispered, leaning forward and kissing the top of Blaine's curly hair.

"Fine," Blaine sighed. "I was trying to ask if...you wanted to spend the night."

Kurt stared at him for a moment before laughing. "Why were you afraid to ask me that?"

Blaine shrugged and grinned up at him. "So do you wanna?"

"Hm, let's see," Kurt said, leaning back against the headboard and looking at the ceiling. "Would I rather go home and go to bed alone, or spend the night with my beautiful, perfect, amazing boyfriend? I just don't know...what do you think, Blaine?"

Blaine laughed and pushed Kurt's shoulder. "Shut up."

"I have to ask my Dad, though...I don't know how he'll feel about it."

"Kurt, we shared a bed for, what, two months? Nothing ever happened."

"Yeah, but do you remember how reluctant he was?" Kurt reminded him. "I just have to ask."

"Okay then," Blaine said, flopping back down. "Ask away. Just remind him that my mom will be here, all night. It's not going to be just us."

Kurt still looked uncertain. "Be right back," he said, and walked into the hallway to call his father.

"Hey Dad!"

"Yes?"

"How are yoooou?"

"I'm fine...how was your day?"

"Oh, it was great. I spent it with Blaine-"

"I figured. What time will you be home?"

"See, that's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about."

"...curfew's still 11:30, Kurt."

"Right, well...I was wondering if...maybe...I could...stay here for the night?"

Silence.

"I mean, Ms. Anderson will be here all night, we'll probably go to bed early, and I'll come home first thing tomorrow..." Kurt said quickly. He held his breath.

"Where are you going to sleep?"

"Uh-"

"Is Ms. Anderson there now?"

"Well, no, but-"

"I'm not so sure of this, Kurt."

"Come on, Dad, please?" Kurt said, resorting to begging. "We slept together-I mean, in the same bed-.-for like two months and nothing happened!"

"That was different," Burt said.

"Dad, please?"

"Burt, who are you talking to?" Kurt could hear Carole saying. He heard Burt cover the phone and say, "It's Kurt. He wants to stay at Blaine's tonight."

"Okay, so?" Carole said.

"So I don't think it's appropriate-"

"Oh, please," Carole said, then suddenly her voice was clearer. "Kurt, you can stay at Blaine's tonight."

"Really? Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll come home first thing in the morning-"

Carole laughed. "That isn't necessary. No one will be here anyway, remember? We'll see you some time tomorrow, Kurt."

"Thank you so much, Carole! Love you!"

"Love you too, Kurt," she said, still laughing as they hung up.

Kurt went skipping back into Blaine's room and took a flying leap onto the bed. "They said yes!"

"They did?"

"Yep! Well, Carole did," Kurt said. "My Dad wasn't so sure."

Blaine shrugged. "It's not like...we're gonna get up to anything, you know?"

Kurt tilted his head a little. "...yeah..."

"So...what do you wanna do?"

Kurt shrugged. "I don't know...we could watch a movie."

Blaine nodded slowly. "Okay. I'll make popcorn and you can pick one out." Blaine held out his hand to help Kurt up, and lead him into the living room.

"I think our DVDs are in that box," Blaine said, gesturing to a moving box in the corner. Since they'd just moved in, Blaine and his mother weren't completely unpacked yet.

Kurt busied himself by rifling through the thirty or so movies in the box as his ears filled with the cracks and pops of the popcorn in the kitchen. By the time the microwave dinged, Kurt had decided on _27 Dresses_, and was putting it in the DVD player underneath the television.

"What'd ya pick?" Blaine asked, dropping down onto the couch beside him and offering the bowl of nuclear-yellow popcorn.

"_27 Dresses_," Kurt said, searching for a piece that didn't insure an instant heart attack. "I love this movie."

"And I love you," Blaine said casually, pulling Kurt to lean against his chest.

"I love you too," Kurt said, snuggling closer. "Despite your tendency to overdo it on the butter."

"You like it too, admit it," Blaine said, dropping a few pieces in his mouth and laughing.

"In moderation," Kurt said, and they fell into a comfortable silence.

They were only a few minutes in when the front door opened behind them.

"Sorry I'm so late, Blaine, they wanted a few drinks before they would let me go," Ms. Anderson was saying as she took off her shoes and tossed her keys on the foyer table."Oh, hello Kurt," she said, catching sight of them entangled on the sofa. Kurt turned around in time to see her try to recompose her face into a less-awkward expression.

"Hi, Ms. Anderson," Kurt replied, and then laughed awkwardly once.

"Er," Blaine said, breaking the silence. "I, um...I asked Kurt to stay the night...is that okay?"

Ms. Anderson's eyebrows shot upward. "Oh, well...yes, I suppose...did you ask his parents?"

"Yes, they said it was fine."

That was clearly not was Ms. Anderson had been hoping for. "Oh," she said, regaining composure quickly. "Okay then." They were silent for another moment. "I'm, um...I'm going to go to bed. Good night, boys...don't stay up...too late," she said before disappearing into the back.

Blaine shrugged and the boys went back to watching the movie. They didn't speak much, just enjoyed the feeling of their bodies next to each other and their hands entwined on Blaine's thigh. It was a good feeling.

* * *

><p>An hour and a half later, the movie was over and Kurt had repeatedly nodded off against Blaine's shoulder.<p>

"Come on, sleepy head," Blaine chuckled, gently nudging Kurt awake for the fifth time. "Movie's over."

"Oh no, I missed it!" Kurt said, rubbing his eyes and taking the hand Blaine offered him.

"Don't feel bad," Blaine said, pulling Kurt to his. feet and wrapping an arm around him. "You're adorable when you sleep. And when you wake up. And in general."

Kurt gave a sleepy smile and turned to kiss Blaine's cheek. "Love you," he whispered, and Blaine laughed again. "Love you too." He lead Kurt back to the bed room and shut the door behind him. Kurt flopped onto the mattress as Blaine flipped on the table lamp and crossed the room to a stack of boxes.

"Pajamas, mi amor?" he asked, tossing Kurt a pair of light blue pants and a t-shirt.

"Too hot for shirts," Kurt mumbled, still half-asleep. He quickly undressed and shoved his legs into his pants before kicking back the covers. After Blaine got dressed-opting for a t-shirt and boxers-he climbed into bed, covering himself with only the sheet, and Kurt latched onto him like a baby koala.

"Too hot for a shirt but not for cuddling?" Blaine said, laughing as he wrapped his arms around Kurt.

"It's never too hot for cuddling," Kurt sighed, curling his legs against Blaine, who kissed the top of his head once before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Blaine woke up the next morning, flat on his back, with Kurt pressed against him, one arm draped over Blaine's chest. Blaine smiled a little as he gave Kurt the once-over; from the top of his sleep-mussed head, the closed eyes that held something beautiful beneath their lids, the mouth, down his back, all the way to his ankles.<p>

_I am so in love with you_, Blaine thought, using the tip of one finger to trace the planes of Kurt's bare back. Kurt's face twitched slightly, and he breathed one word: "_Blaine_".

Blaine smiled, caught between wanting to kiss his boyfriend and wanting to watch him sleep for a little longer. A few seconds later, though, Kurt made the decision for him by jerking suddenly awake.

"Wha-?" Kurt said, his hair sticking straight up as he looked around blearily. "Where am...Blaine?"

Blaine laughed. "Good morning to you too."

"I feel like I've been drugged," Kurt groaned, flopping back down onto the bed.

"Yeah, you kept falling asleep during the movie."

"I remember that. But I don't remember anything else."

"You fell asleep almost as soon as I lugged you back here," Blaine teased.

"Let's go for breakfast," Kurt said, suddenly popping back up like bread out of a toaster.

"And all of a sudden he's full of pep," Blaine said, watching as Kurt rolled out of bed and over to the boxes of clothes in the corner.

"I'll need to borrow something," Kurt said, rifling through the top box. He pulled out a navy-and-red Dalton Academy soccer shirt, and looked at Blaine with raised eyebrows. "I didn't know you played soccer."

Blaine shrugged. "Only my sophomore year. I sucked."

"Adorable," Kurt said, pulling it over his head and returning to the box for pants.

"Funny, I never would have pictured you as the type for sports jerseys."

"It's not a_ jersey_, it's just a t-shirt," Kurt replied. "Plus it smells like you," he added, pulling the sleeve to his nose and inhaling deeply.

"I'll trade you," Blaine offered, holding up the shirt Kurt had been wearing yesterday.

"Are you sure you don't want a clean one?" Kurt said, abandoning his pajamas and sliding into a nondescript pair of shorts.

"Sports shirt and shorts? Who are you?" Blaine said in mock surprise, and Kurt rolled his eyes.

"I'm relaxed Kurt," he said, coming over to curl up beside Blaine once more.

"I like relaxed Kurt," Blaine said, laying back to rest his head next to Kurt's.

"But I want breakfast!" Kurt said, springing up again. "To IHOP!"

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, Kurt was sitting on his bed alone, flipping through his yearbook. He'd bought one from Dalton and McKinely each, and to be funny, Blaine had signed both. In McKinely, short and sweet:<p>

_Hey Kurt-_

_I miss you a lot now that you're going to McKinely, but it's okay because I still get to see you a lot. I stole your yearbook cuz I wanted to tell you that I love you and you're amazing :)_

_Love, Blaine_

Then in the Dalton one, he'd taken up nearly a full page with his tall, sloping handwriting:

_Dear Kurt,_

_Hi. I've been thinking for a few days about what to say here that doesn't sound incredibly cheesy, but at the same time sounds heartfelt, cuz that's what these things are for, right? Right._

_Well, I guess I could start by saying that I love you a whole lot, and I think you're perfect. Just being around you makes my day brighter, no matter what, and I don't know what I'd do without you. You're my best friend, Kurt, and I'm so lucky that I have you and that I found you._

_This summer's going to be the greatest, cuz we have each other and we're going to be together and I love you!_

_Love, Blaine_

While Rachel and Mercedes had gushed over the entry when Kurt had showed it off, Jeff and few of the other Warblers had taken some space below to draw a hunk of Swiss cheese and a glass of wine beside the caption 'would you like some wine with that cheese?' Blaine had tried to scratch it out, but Kurt had stopped him. It reminded him of the friends and memories he'd had at Dalton Academy. He would miss it, but McKinely was where he belonged.

As Kurt was reminiscing, tracing his fingers over the letters his boyfriend had written, his phone buzzed by his leg. A text from Blaine.

**B: Hello, lovely. Busy? I have news!**

**K: Of course I'm not busy! What kind of news?**

**B: The surprise kind :)**

**K: Then get your butt over here!**

Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

"Hello, handsome!" Blaine said, putting his hands on Kurt's hips and kissing his cheek as soon as the door opened. "Long time no see!"

"It's been, like, two days, Blaine," Kurt said, stepping back to let him in.

"Long enough," the curly-headed boy said, leading the way into the living room and flopping over the arm of the sofa onto the cushions. Kurt sat by his head and stroked his hair. "So what's the news?"

"I got a job!" Blaine said, springing up.

"A job?" Kurt said, wrinkling his nose. "Where?"

"At Get the Scoop!" Blaine said excitedly.

"That new ice cream place downtown?"

"Uh-huh! So now I get free ice cream!"

"That's great!" Kurt said, forcing a smile.

"What?" Blaine said, catching on instantly. "What's wrong?"

"Wrong? What do you mean? Nothing's wrong!" Kurt said quickly, turning away. But Blaine was too quick; he grabbed Kurt's chin and pulled him back around.

"Kurt, something's the matter. Now tell me!" Blaine said, softening his voice. "Please?"

Kurt exhaled. "Fine. I'm just worried...I mean, now that you're working how often am I going to get to see you?"

Blaine laughed. "Kurt, it's summer! And it's only a part-time job. I'll still have plenty of free time!" When Kurt still looked doubtful, he added, "And now we can go on ice cream dates! Free ice cream dates!"

At this, Kurt laughed. "Okay. I'm happy for you! I had no idea you were even looking for a job, though."

Blaine nodded. "It's just been hard with only my mom bringing in money, I felt like I should do my part to help out. You know, to make things easier on her."

As Kurt nodded, he instantly felt guilty. Over the past few weeks, he and Blaine had gone out on many dates, and Kurt had never stopped to think about money. He, of course, was perfectly comfortable financially; Carole and Burt both had steady jobs, and while Kurt paid for Blaine roughly half the time, he knew their weekly dinner-and-a-movie nights could not be easy on his budget.

"So what do you wanna do today?" Blaine asked, settling back into the couch.

Kurt shrugged. "I dunno," he said, thinking hard. He was still doubtful of Blaine's new schedule; it was hard for Kurt not to view this job as, well...competition. But at least Blaine would always like him more...right?

"...Kurt?"

"Wait, what?" Kurt said, jerking to attention. Blaine had evidently been waving his hand in front of Kurt's face in an attempt to get his attention, but Kurt had been spacing out and now Blaine was giving him a very odd look indeed.

"Uh, I said I was gonna go tell my mom," Blaine said, a slightly hurt expression on his face. "So uh...I guess I'll see you later..."

"No, don't go!" Kurt said, holding out a hand as Blaine stood up.

"It's okay, Kurt. I'll text you, okay?"

And he was gone.

"Great, just great," Kurt said angrily to himself, slapping his forehead. "Awesome. Peachy. Good going, Kurt."

* * *

><p>Several hours later, Kurt was curled up on his bed, alone, a bowl of popcorn on his lap and a stack of sappy movies on the floor next to him. He'd just finished Titanic and was now in the middle of The Notebook.<p>

_Why am I so pathetic?_ he thought. _I have the best boyfriend in the entire universe, and instead of taking advantage of that, I'm sitting at home alone moping because he can't spend every waking second with me. But you know what, no more_. Kurt sat up resolutely. These movies had been giving him ideas, so he reached for his phone, and dialed Blaine.

Two rings later, he got a "Hello?"

"Hey!" Kurt said, pausing the movie and rolling off his bed to stand by the window.

"Hi," was all Blaine said, and Kurt felt his heart sink.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm really sorry for the way I acted today, I was being selfish. I really am happy for you, and I'm excited about our prospective ice cream dates!"

Blaine laughed, his tone instantly brightening. "No, it's okay. I shouldn't have taken it so seriously."

They were silent for a moment, then Kurt said, "So, I was wondering..."

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come over...I'm home alone." He didn't really know why he felt the need to say that, but it seemed right. His stomach quivered a little.

"Okay," Blaine said slowly.

"And you can stay the night, if you want," Kurt added. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Okay," Blaine said again. "See you in a bit!"

"See you!"

"I love you!"

Kurt smiled. "Love you too."

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Kurt and Blaine were on the sofa in Kurt's living room, legs entangled and leaning against each other as they ate pizza out of the box on the coffee table. They were watching reruns of <em>What I Like About You<em>, just enjoying the company and silence.

"You know, I really did miss you," Blaine said during a commercial. "Even though it was only a couple of days."

"No, I missed you too," Kurt said, scooting closer to him.

"But I'm here now," Blaine said softly.

"Yes you are," Kurt answered, turning his head to look at him properly.

After a moment of silence between them, Blaine pushed his head forward to kiss Kurt, who immediately responded by twisting his body around to kneel on the couch.

It was strange; whether it was because of their short time apart or their mini-fight earlier or the thought of less time together-something seemed to have shifted. Kurt certainly sensed it, and it seemed as if Blaine did too as he turned the TV off and tossed the remote to the floor and laid back to let Kurt hover over him.

"Okay, who are you, and what have you done with my boyfriend?" Blaine said as Kurt disconnected their mouths and started kissing Blaine's neck fiercely.

"I just missed you, okay? Is there a problem?"

"No," Blaine breathed, "Definitely not."

"Good," Kurt whispered in his ear, grazing his earlobe with his teeth, making Blaine shudder beneath him. "Because I've been thinking..."

"Oh, have you?"

"Yeah, I have," Kurt said, turning his attention back to Blaine's mouth."I would like more of this."

"Fine by me," Blaine said, abruptly grabbing Kurt's hips and pressing them into his own.

Another moment or two passed with them engaged in each others mouths, fingers tangled in hair and breath coming in wild gasps. Blaine reached down to unbutton his pants and then started to do Kurt's-"Is this okay?"

"Yes," Kurt whined. "It's more than okay."

"Are you sure? Because just a few weeks ago..."

"Like I said, I gave it some thought. I love you, you love me. We both want this, right?"

"Definitely."

"Exactly. So shut up and kiss me." Blaine laughed as Kurt gripped the sides of his face once more, pushing his mouth open. Blaine tangled his hands in Kurt's hair once more, but they didn't stay there long. Within seconds they were working their way down Kurt's neck, his shoulders, down to his lower back. He pulled one around to graze over the stiff bulge in Kurt's open pants, making his boyfriend shudder and whine once more.

"Oh my God," Kurt breathed, tearing his mouth away from Blaine's as he started to roll down the waistband on Kurt's underwear. His face was flushed and he could hear his pulse pounding in his ears, but it felt so damn good. Why had he ever been afraid of this?

And then suddenly he could feel Blaine's open hand on his naked skin and-_damn_. That single touch almost ruined him, and then Blaine closed his hand around Kurt and stroked once, ever so slowly.

"Holy-" Kurt said in a strangled voice, but he was cut off by Blaine catching his mouth once more in a kiss. He stroked once more, moving his mouth to breath in Kurt's ear, which, surprisingly, was really...arousing. As was the way Blaine was sucking on his earlobe, and the way he was gliding his thumb over the slick tip and stroking, stroking, stroking..."God, Blaine, I think-" he stuttered, but it was too late. He came over Blaine's hand and his own lower stomach, and Blaine dragged his mouth back to Kurt's to kiss him once more.

"Oh my God, Kurt," Blaine whispered, sliding his hand out of Kurt's underwear and up his stomach. "Do you have any idea how..._sexy_ that was?"

"Mm," Kurt said, still on the way down from this wave of complete ecstasy."Now it's your turn," he said in a ragged whisper, moving his hand down Blaine's body.

"No, you don't-" Blaine started, but Kurt stopped him by pressing his mouth hard to Blaine's. He opened his mouth and darted his tongue along Blaine's lips as he hooked the tip of one finger over his waist band, pulling it down over the bulge. Blaine was already whining and bucking beneath him, and Kurt hadn't even touched him yet. But when he did, Blaine thrusted violently into Kurt's hand, fisting his fingers into Kurt's hair and pressing their mouths together. It only took a few strokes before Blaine came too, spilling over Kurt's fingers, which Kurt wiped on his shirt before continuing to kiss Blaine.

For a few moments, they just lay there, Kurt pressed on top of Blaine, breathing heavily.

"That was...wow," Kurt panted, and Blaine nodded. He kissed the top of Kurt's smooth hair and stroked his finger down his spine.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, once everything was cleaned up and everyone was back home and Kurt and Blaine were tucked into Kurt's bed-just like old times-Kurt lay in silence, thinking. It had been a strange day; had that actually happened? Had Blaine and he actually...? But yeah. Yeah, it was definitely real. And it was awesome. They'd been together, what, three months now? And Blaine had respected him and his wishes up to this point, and when Kurt had finally said to hell with his reservations, Blaine had been kind and gentle and loving, and now their relationship had reached a whole new plane. This afternoon had unlocked a whole new world of possibilities, possibilities that Kurt found himself constantly thinking about, actually. He'd mustered up the courage to try watching 'those' movies again, and while it had been painfully awkward and uncomfortable, even alone in his bedroom...at least now he sort of knew.<p>

Still, though, as great as this sex stuff promised to be...Kurt was still happy they could do this; lay cuddled together in bed, taking turns being the big and little spoon. Kurt placed his hand overtop of Blaine's on his chest and wound their fingers together, and he felt Blaine sigh against his neck and snuggle closer.

Yeah, this was good too.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so, that was my first time writing anything even remotely smut-like, and it was terrible, I know. But cut me some slack, I promise to try harder...as soon as I stop blushing.<strong>

**So...I hope you sort of liked that. I promise to try and update more :]**


	3. Chapter 3

**I know, I know, another update? So soon? What a surprise!**

**I pretty much spent all day writing this...I hope you like it! As always, reviews are always appreciated :]**

**You guys are awesome!**

**Oh, and fair warning: this isn't about to turn into some slutty Klaine orgy fic (although let's be real how fun would that be?)...that's just how this chapter turned out. I decided to give le smut another try...let's hope it's a tad better this time.**

**Okay, now, without further ado...chapter three!**

* * *

><p>Blaine woke up the next morning-he had a bad habit of always being the first to wake up- chest-to-chest with Kurt and his boyfriend's head nestled in between his neck and shoulder, his soft breath tickling the space below his collarbone.<p>

God, Kurt was just so...so _perfect_. So beautiful and whole and...perfect.

Blaine lazily trailed his fingers up and down Kurt's spine, and he felt Kurt's arms tighten around him and he laughed softly to himself. He enjoyed having these sorts of effects on his boyfriend, even when he was asleep.

A few moments later, Kurt's eyelids fluttered open and he pulled away enough to smile up at him blearily. "Good morning," he said, pressing a tender kiss to Blaine's Adam's apple.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Blaine answered, responding with a kiss to Kurt's forehead. "How'd you sleep?"

"Quite well, thank you," Kurt said, nuzzling Blaine's neck with the tip of his nose. "I always sleep better next to you."

"So what do you want to do today?" Blaine asked, continuing to draw shapes on Kurt's back.

Kurt shrugged, closing his eyes and relishing the feeling of Blaine's fingertips. "I dunno...what do you want to do?"

"Well you know I'm always a proponent for this," Blaine said, gesturing to them and the bed.

"You're such a...a cuddle whore!" Kurt said, and Blaine burst into laughter.

"A cuddle whore?"

"It's true! You are!" Kurt said, sitting up. "It's not a bad thing, believe me."

"...a cuddle whore, huh?" Blaine asked again, one eye brow raised, and Kurt nodded matter-of-factly. "Don't worry though," he said, laying back down and once again wrapping his arms around Blaine. "It's rather adorable."

* * *

><p>Later that day, once Blaine had gone home, Kurt was milling about, cleaning his room and wearing Blaine's t-shirt. As he sat on his bed, sorting through old school papers, there was a knock on his door.<p>

"Hi Dad," he said, looking up as his father pushed open the door.

"Hi Kurt," he answered, shutting the door and sitting backwards on Kurt's desk chair. "Got a second?"

Kurt looked at his father suspiciously for a second before nodding slowly and putting aside the papers in his hand. "What's up?"

"I want to talk about Blaine," Burt said bluntly, no hesitation whatsoever. Kurt felt his eyebrows raise involuntarily, but managed to stop his jaw from dropping.

"Uh," Kurt stuttered. "Okay...what about him?"

"You guys have been together for, what, three months now?"

"About, yeah. A little more, I think, actually."

"Great. Wonderful. I'm happy for you guys, I really am."

"Okay..." Kurt said, raising his eyebrows in a go-on sort of way.

"So...you guys are getting pretty serious, huh?" Burt said, beginning to look the tiniest bit uncomfortable.

Kurt felt his eyes widen as he realized where this was headed. The question was, should he play dumb and therefore prolong the inevitable? Or own up to the fact that, yes, he and Blaine were indeed having sex-or headed that way, in any case-and deal with the consequences?

"Er-" Kurt began uncertainly, but Burt interrupted him by holding up a hand.

"What I really mean, Kurt, is...are you guys...are you boys...having...sex?" Burt said, rapidly turning the same violent shade of red Kurt was sure he was turning.

"Well...define 'sex'..." Kurt said, avoiding his father's eyes. One the one hand, he was sort of mad his father was trying to talk to him about this...but on the other hand, hadn't he sort of asked for it, way back when? When he'd asked his father to 'educate himself' so he could 'talk to his father like any normal son'? And here it was, exactly what he had asked for, a father who was interested, a father who cared...and a father who was waiting impatiently to hear about what sorts of sexual exploits his innocent, doe-eyed, baby penguin son had been getting up to.

Burt waved his hand. "I don't really want to know...the specifics. I just need to know: has he been pressuring you in any way?"

"No!" Kurt said quickly; soon enough to make his father look doubtful. "No, not at all." he repeated firmly._ In fact_, Kurt almost added, _it was my idea_. But that made him sound like a bit of a slut, so instead he said, "It's always been a...a mutual thing."

"'Always'?" Burt sputtered. "How often are we talking?"

"No, Dad, that's not what I meant!" Kurt said, plunging into an even deeper shade of red. "What I meant was, we are two consenting young adults in a healthy relationship and...we haven't done anything...before _both_ of us were ready. I've never pressured him, and he's certainly never pressured me," he said, looking his father in the eye before adding. "And we haven't done anything...too serious."

"Like I said, I don't need specifics," Burt said, holding up his hands. "But I do have to ask...are you being, you know...safe?"

"Dad!" Kurt said, his face now so hot he was quite sure you could fry an egg on it. "We're not there yet, okay?"

"Okay, okay!" Burt said. "As your father, those are the kinds of things I need to ask."

"That doesn't make it any less awkward," Kurt said, rubbing the back of his neck, and Burt laughed.

"I hear ya," he said, then became serious once more. "But listen, Kurt. I like Blaine, I really do. He seems like a good kid-"

"He is!" Kurt interjected, and Burt held up a hand.

"And I can tell you really like him." Kurt nodded. "But I want you to remember what I said before: you guys are teenage boys, and you're going to want things-"

"Dad, please!"

"Listen, Kurt," Burt said seriously. "You're going to want things, and I want you to remember that no one has the right to tell you what to do with your body. No one, except for you, can tell you when you're ready for...intimacy. And you should never feel worried or nervous or embarrassed if you want to say no. If Blaine is the kind of kid I think he is, then he'll wait. And if he won't...well, then you deserve someone who will."

There was silence for a moment as Kurt stared at his father, unsure of what to say. He was touched, and there was a lump in his throat to prove it. So he offered up a small smile and simply said, "Thanks, Dad."

Burt nodded gruffly and clapped his hands. "Well...that's all. We're having burgers for dinner.

"Turkey burger for me, please," Kurt said, looking back down at his papers as if Burt had only just entered the room.

"Sure thing, son," Burt said, before bowing out.

* * *

><p>The next day, after a quiet lunch and no contact with Blaine, Kurt decided to dial him up.<p>

"Heya, handsome!" Kurt said brightly, and Blaine laughed.

"Hello to you, Bright Eyes. What's up?"

"Nothing really...I wanted to see if you wanted to come over? We could go see a movie or something if you want!"

"Oh, Kurt. I'm sorry, but...I can't. I have to, um...work."

Kurt was silent for a moment, his heart sinking. "Oh. Well...I can come visit you!" he said, trying hard to sound chipper.

"No!" Blaine said, a little quickly. "I mean...I don't think it's a good idea. It's my first day, and I just don't want...distractions."

"Oh," Kurt said again, unsure of what to make of Blaine's behavior. "Well, okay..."

"I can come over later though, if you still want to do something?"

"Yeah, sure...later," Kurt said, not even trying to hide the hurt in his voice.

Blaine sighed exasperatedly. "Kurt, I didn't mean it that way-"

"No, it's fine," Kurt said tonelessly. "I understand. I'll see you later."

"I love you!" Blaine said, in a desperate attempt to mend his mistake.

Kurt hung up, pretending not to hear.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Kurt was lying on his bed with his legs propped against the wall, reading the oldest edition of Vogue he had in his collection, when there was a knock on his door. He didn't bother looking up; he had four unanswered texts from Blaine that gave him a feeling who was at the door.<p>

Sure enough, it was Blaine's voice that said "Okay, I'm coming in now!" through the door just before it opened.

"What the hell, Hummel?" he said, his voice laced with agitation.

"What ever do you mean, darling?" Kurt said, turning a page of his magazine without looking up.

"Why are you being this way?" Blaine begged, kneeling beside the bed. Kurt still didn't look at him. "Kurt, look at me, please."

"Fine," Kurt said, letting his magazine fall forward onto his chest. "What do you want?"

"Why are you acting this way?" Blaine asked, the anger falling away and being replaced by genuine hurt. Kurt felt his heart soften just a tad, try as he might to stay irritated. "Please tell me, because I don't understand!"

"Because you hurt my feelings today!" Kurt snapped, thrusting the magazine to hide his face and the stupid tears of irritation and hurt and embarrassment and angst that were leaking out of his eyes. Only a few seconds of silence passed before the tip of one smooth finger hooked over the top of the magazine and tugged it down a little, revealing Blaine staring up at Kurt through his lashes with puppy-dog eyes.

"I'm sorry," Blaine said softly, reaching for Kurt's hand, but he moved it away, still staring hard at the ceiling. "Really and truly I am. Will you let me make it up to you?"

"I'm listening."

"Yay!" Blaine said, jumping to his feet and clapping. "You have to give me your hand though."

"...fine," Kurt said, fighting a smile as he offered his hand to his boyfriend, who eagerly pulled him to his feet. "Now let's go!"

* * *

><p>"For the last time, Blaine Anderson, where the heck are you taking me?" Kurt exclaimed for the fifth time. He was buckled into the passenger's seat of Blaine's car, a blindfold over his eyes.<p>

"Not teeeeeeelllllling," Blaine sang. They'd already made one mystery stop, and had been driving for about fifteen minutes since then. Kurt trusted Blaine and all, and his anger had completely evaporated, but he couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

A few minutes later, though, Kurt felt the car roll to a gentle stop and felt Blaine's hand on his thigh. "Just hold on, okay?" Blaine said in his ear, and his heart faltered. He heard Blaine get out of the car, and seconds later his own door opened. He felt Blaine's warm body lean across him to unbuckle his seatbelt, then Blaine's strong, sure hand take his own to help him out of the car. "Stay," Blaine said, gently pressing his hands to Kurt's shoulders as soon as they were both standing, then another door opened and shut and Blaine was holding his hand again. "This way," Blaine said.

The air was warm and thick; nighttime summer air, the very best kind. It was eight or nine in the evening, so no light was creeping through the blindfold. Kurt kept waiting for them to stop and go inside, but they never did. Eventually, the ground began sloping upward, mystifying him even more.

"Careful!" Blaine said, moving his hand from Kurt's to wrap around his waist. "We're almost there."

"Where are we?"

"I'm kind of surprised you haven't already figured it out actually," Blaine chuckled. "Okay...stop!" Kurt jerked to a halt immediately, making Blaine laughed again. "Don't move until I say so, okay?"

"Okay..." Kurt said uncertainly, tilting his head back to try and see under the edge of the blindfold, but evidently Blaine was some kind of blindfolding expert because he couldn't see shit.

A minute and a half later, Blaine was in his ear again. "Okay, here you go!" Blaine said softly, his hands on Kurt's hips. He pressed his lips to Kurt's tenderly and untied the blindfold as they kissed. He stepped back, letting the cloth fall from Kurt's eyes.

Kurt blinked a few times, adjusting to the dim...candlelight?

Yes, candlelight. At Kurt's feet was a red-and-white checked blanket, laden with food-a package of breadsticks, a box of Cosmic Brownies, and a single plate of spaghetti-and lit by two candlesticks on either side of a vase of flowers.

"Wha-how-?" Kurt stammered, dumbstruck. He took a moment to realize where they were: under their favorite oak tree at the park. "I...Blaine..." he tried again, but still lost for words. Blaine just stood their, grinning at his expression, and Kurt stumbled forward, throwing his arms around Blaine's neck.

"You like it then, I guess?" Blaine laughed, stumbling back a little from the ferocity of Kurt's hug.

"I love it, Blaine!" Kurt said, kissing him earnestly.

"I love you," Blaine answered. "Now let's eat!"

"_One_ plate of spaghetti?" Kurt asked, raising his eyebrow as he took his seat. Blaine grinned and reached behind the picnic basket, producing a stereo. He pressed play, and after a moment, Kurt recognized the tune.

"This just keeps getting better and better," Kurt said, as 'Belle Notte' from _Lady and the Tramp_ serenaded them. He turned back to face Blaine, who was waiting with a spaghetti-laden fork, at the ready to feed it to Kurt.

"Would it be nerdy if I asked to reenact the spaghetti-sharing scene?" Kurt said, covering his mouth as he chewed.

"Way ahead of you," Blaine replied, scooping up a single noodle and putting one end in his mouth. Kurt took the other end and they moved towards each other, keeping their lips connected for a moment before biting it off.

They kept their eyes locked as they chewed, grinning at each other. Slowly, tenderly, Blaine raised his hand to graze Kurt's cheek with the back of it. He slid it around to the back of Kurt's neck and drew him closer, touching their foreheads for a moment before touching their lips.

The kiss was instantly more heated, for whatever reason. Kurt brought his hand to Blaine's cheek, crushing their mouths together as Blaine tangled the fingers of one hand in Kurt's hair. The other hand was sneakily sliding down Kurt's body, coming to rest on his inner thigh and inching closer and closer to a very precarious place indeed. They started leaning back, so that Kurt was pressed into the ground and Blaine was hovering overtop of him, his hand still between Kurt's legs. The boys were breathing very heavily now, their dinner forgotten as their mouths and hands moved wildly.

Kurt gasped and balled his hands into fists on Blaine's hips as his boyfriend twitched a finger to gently nudge the already half-hard bulge in his pants.

"Blaine," Kurt breathed, pulling his mouth away as Blaine began to kiss his neck, teeth and all.

"Mmm," Blaine growled, sucking on Kurt's collarbone.

"No, Blaine..." Kurt started again, struggling to keep his focus, but it was very hard-erm, _difficult_-to do that when Blaine was grinding into his hips like he was. "Blaine, we're...we're at the park, and..."

"And?" Blaine said, looping his fingers into Kurt's belt loops to crush their pelvises together. Kurt was completely hard now, and it was starting to hurt. Blaine wasn't helping either, what with all his grinding and palming and sucking and kissing and groaning. Blaine was very vocal, and it really turned Kurt on.

"And someone could see us..." Kurt said, appreciating Blaine's pause. He was starting to come undone very quickly.

"There's no one here, Kurt," Blaine said, running one hand over Kurt's chest. "Besides...it's sort of _hot_, right?" And oh, dear lord, the way Blaine said that, right in Kurt's ear, hot and wet in itself, was almost enough to end him.

"Oh my God, Blaine, Blaine," Kurt stammered, fisting his hands into Blaine's curls as Blaine reached further between his legs. "I can't, I can't..."

"Just let loose," Blaine said, swiftly unbuttoning Kurt's pants and then his own.

"Blaine..." Wait, this wasn't...this wasn't pressuring, was it? No, it couldn't be, cuz Kurt wanted it. Oh good_ lord_ did he want it...this just didn't seem to be the time or place. "I really think..." But Blaine had a point, there was no one around...it was late, and they were alone...no one would be able to see them anyway, unless they were right next to them...and it was so tempting...and shit, Blaine was inching into Kurt's pants now...it was now or never.

"Blaine, stop," Kurt said, so firmly it surprised even him. "I think we should...not...do that...here..."

"Fine," Blaine said, thankfully not sounding irritated, if only a little disappointed.

"Not saying we shouldn't do it at all..." Kurt said, and Blaine looked up. "How fast can you get us home?"

Blaine grinned and bounded to his feet, offering Kurt his hand to help him up. Together they gathered up their picnic and practically sprinted down the hill, dumping the stuff unceremoniously in the backseat of Blaine's car.

Blaine pulled out of the parking lot and drove-probably faster than was safe, but whatever-to his apartment. "Book club," he said, when Kurt shot him a questioning look, and leaped out of the car and around to Kurt's side.

They stood hand-in-hand to wait for the elevator, shifty and fidgeting as they waited. When finally the doors dinged open and the stall was empty...they were alone. They launched themselves at each other as soon as the doors closed, stumbling back so that Kurt was pressed against the wall. Kurt could already feel the stiff feeling returning when the elevator ground to a halt and the doors open.

Blaine flung himself away from Kurt and against the opposite wall-just in time, too, for the little old lady boarding the elevator had just looked up from her purse. She smiled pleasantly as she toddled into the elevator.

Kurt met Blaine's eyes and they both had to stifle laughter over the woman's head. They spent the rest of the short ride meeting and dropping each other's gazes, trying to suppress their laughter and their...well, lust.

On the floor below Blaine's the woman left, and the boys began inching their way back to each other. Just as the doors opened, their pinky fingers had made contact, and Blaine seized Kurt's hand and tugged him into the hallway.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry," Kurt whispered in Blaine's ear as he fumbled with his key. Kurt stood behind Blaine, hands on his hips and pressing frantic little kisses into the back of his neck. Finally they got the door open, and Blaine whirled around and grabbed Kurt's waist, once again crushing himself to him. They stumbled backwards into the dark hallway, Kurt kicking the door shut behind them as they staggered through the living room.

Once they were in Blaine's room, he pushed Kurt down on the bed and shut the door, then came to straddle his boyfriend on the bed.

"Oh my God," Kurt breathed, turning his face away as Blaine bent over him, once again kissing and sucking at his neck. Kurt's hands were above his head, and Blaine slid his to entwine their fingers. "Oh my God."

Blaine chuckled, turning his attention back to Kurt's mouth as he began unbuttoning his shirt. "Oh, thank the lord," Kurt said, once Blaine was done and had moved onto his pants; it had been starting to hurt a little.

"Raise your hips a little bit," Blaine commanded, and Kurt did as he was told. Blaine first rolled down Kurt's pants, past his feet and tossing them into the corner. He rose to remove his own shirt and pants, and then they were just underwear and skin.

And it was _marvelous_.

Blaine had such a great body; strong and sure and lean, with just a smattering of hair across his chest and a line that lead to his boxers. Kurt was enjoying running his hands up and over Blaine's chest and abdomen and sides-until Blaine abruptly flipped them over so that Kurt was on top. Now it was Blaine examining Kurt's smooth chest, and running his hands over his stomach and around to his back, slowly dragging his fingernails down-probably leaving little red trails, but Kurt didn't care-it felt so damn _good_.

"Okay," Blaine said, separating their mouths for a second. "I want to do this now," he said, and flipped them back over.

Before Kurt had a chance to ask, Blaine was pressing tender little kisses in the center of Kurt's chest, making a trail all the way down his torso to his underwear.

"Oh my God," Kurt said, as he realized what Blaine was doing. Blaine palmed his erection and kissed it through his underwear once before gently rolling them down and removing those too.

"Oh my God," Kurt said again, as Blaine simply let his breath waft over Kurt's tender skin. "Holy-" His legs, hanging off the edge of the bed, contracted on either side of Blaine, who looped his arms under them and place his hands on Kurt's hips.

He opened his mouth just a little, taking in the tip before looking up at Kurt, who was in a state of pure ecstasy. His head was thrown back, his toes digging into the floor. This was...this was just too much.

That is, until Blaine opened his mouth wider and took even more in and danced his tongue around Kurt-.-it was all Kurt could do not to thrust all the way into that gorgeous wet cavern...but Blaine was holding his hips steady, so that...helped.

Blaine sat up on his knees to take in almost the entirety of Kurt's cock, and then he started humming. Holy shit, he was_ humming_ and it felt so _good_-Kurt arched his back off the bed and moaned, tugging Blaine's hair a little. "Blaine...oh, god, Blaine, I-" Kurt stammered, trying to warn him, but Blaine only held his hips tighter and hummed harder, and then, heart pounding and pulse racing and breath coming in wild gasps, Kurt exploded into Blaine's mouth, who swallowed it-all of it-with ease. He looked up at Kurt with a sexy grin before wiping his mouth and crawling up Kurt's body to kiss him.

"Now let me-now let me-you-" Kurt gasped, tearing his mouth away from Blaine's to return the favor, so to speak, but Blaine grabbed his chin and steered his face back to him.

"I took care of it," Blaine said in his ear. "It was hard to wait, seeing you like that...it was almost.._.orgasmic_." Blaine growled the last word, and it was almost enough to make Kurt hard again-at least until they heard the front door open and a voice call, "Blaine? I'm home!"

"Shit!" Blaine said, vaulting off the bed and across the room towards his pile of clothes.

"Blaine, are you in there?" Ms. Anderson said, suddenly at the door and knocking.

"Y-yeah, just a second!" Blaine called hoarsely, throwing his t-shirt on as Kurt hopped on one foot, trying to put on his pants. Kurt dove onto the bed, trying to look casual as Blaine flattened his tangled hair and opened the door. "Er...what's up?" he said, his voice cracking.

Ms. Anderson stretched her neck to look at Kurt suspiciously over Blaine's shoulder. "What are you guys doing?"

Kurt's stomach plummeted as Blaine struggled to come up with an innocent answer. "Um...we're just...hanging' out. You know. Talking."

Ms. Anderson scrutinized her sons face through narrowed eyes for a moment before shrugging. Evidently, she had decided she didn't want to know. "Alright, then. Have fun...talking."

Blaine shut the door and leaned against it. "That was close...what?"

Kurt was kneeling on the bed, his eyes wide and his hand covering the smile he was trying to hide. "Your lips...are _so_ red."

"Shit," Blaine said, racing over to the mirror propped next to his boxes of clothes. "Oh my God," he said, rocking back onto his heels. He looked at Kurt and they both burst into laughter.

"C'mon, hot stuff," Blaine said, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. "I'll take you home."

* * *

><p>That weekend, Kurt and Blaine had decided to spend some time apart so Blaine and his mother could get properly settled in, and Kurt could spend some much needed bonding time with Rachel and Mercedes.<p>

"This is gonna be so fun!" Mercedes sang, looping her arm through Kurt and Rachel's as the three of them walked up to Breadstix, grabbing a bite to eat before a day of shopping. "I feel like I haven't seen you guys in forever!"

Rachel nodded. "I've been pretty busy with Finn-"

"And I with Blaine," Kurt added. "And we know you've been busy with Sam!"

"Yeah, what's up with all the secrecy?" Rachel asked. "I mean, we saw through it in about a second...but why not share it?"

Mercedes shrugged, a huge smile on her face as soon as Sam was mentioned. "I dunno, everyone was so preoccupied with Nationals, we just didn't feel like it was the right time..."

"Well now's the time to spill!" Kurt said, sliding into a booth opposite the girls.

"Yeah, tell us everything," Rachel said, leaning forward eagerly.

* * *

><p>By the time they had finished lunch and made their way through six stores at the mall, Rachel finally narrowed her eyes and asked Kurt the question he had been waiting for: "So, Kurt...how are things with Blaine?"<p>

"Oh, you know..." Kurt said in a taunting voice, and making the two girls slap him. "They're wonderful," he swooned. "Marvelous."

"Ooh, _marvelous_!" Rachel teased, elbowing Mercedes. "They're _marvelous_."

"Shut up," Kurt said, rolling his eyes.

"So what have you guys been up to that's kept you so busy?" Rachel asked.

"Oh, just, you know..." he said, avoiding their eyes as he felt heat creeping up his neck. "Stuff."

Rachel and Mercedes exchanged a glance.

"Okay boy, now it's your turn to spill," Mercedes said, grabbing Kurt's arm and steering him over to a bench. "What have you and gel boy been gettin' up to?"

Kurt felt himself blushing. "That's kinda private, don't you think?"

"Oh, come on, Kurt, if you can't gush about the exploits of you and your lover to your best friends, who can you gush to?" Rachel said,

"She has a point."

"Fine," Kurt said, looking towards the ceiling and willing his blush to subside. "Very recently...Blaine and I have been...exploring the more...sexual aspects of our relationship." Rachel and Mercedes shared another glance. "And why shouldn't we?" Kurt cried. "We're both two consenting young adults! We're teenagers! In a serious relationship! I mean, it was bound to happen sometime-"

"You don't have to defend yourself, Kurt," Mercedes said, patting his arm and laughing, and Rachel nodded.

"What's he like?" Rachel asked eagerly, leaning in.

"Yeah, we wanna know!" Mercedes said, and Kurt laughed. He really had missed this.

"He's good. Like.._.really_ good," Kurt said, and then after a moment, "Well, I don't really have anyone to compare him to...but I think he's good."

"What have you guys done?"

Kurt felt himself turning pink again. "You know...stuff."

The girls raised their eyebrows simultaneously.

"You guys haven't...you're not..." Mercedes began, and Kurt shook his head.

"No! Oh, goodness no, we haven't...we're not...we haven't had sex yet," Kurt said, his face flaming red once more. "Well, not real sex, anyway. Just, you know...other stuff. Hands and mouth stuff."

"Ooh, get it Kurt!" Mercedes said, playfully slapping his arm, and he rolled his eyes.

"Now that everyone's clued in...can we move on?"

"Yes!" Rachel said, clapping her hands in glee. "Let's go to Cinnebon!"

"Uch, but those things are so bad for you," Kurt said, allowing the girls to pull him to his feet.

"Quit whining, Hummel," Mercedes said, looping their arms again. "A little sin is good now and then."

Kurt touched his head to Mercedes'. "I really missed you guys."

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so sorry if that was awful smut...I was blushing so much while I wrote it and I only read through it once.<strong>

**Also sorry for sassy bitch!Kurt. He'll probably make only one or two more appearances ;]**


	4. Chapter 4

**Not much to say about this, other than sorry it's been kind of a big gap between this chapter and the last. I've been busy with work and HARREH POTTAH etc, so yeah. I hope you enjoy this! It is as follows: quasi-smut, angst, jealousy~, sickeningly sweet fluff (seriously, you might want to keep a toothbrush handy if I do say so myself), more smut aaaand...I think that's it. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>The next day, while Finn was hanging out with Puck and Burt and Carole were at work, the boys found themselves in a level of very deep entanglement on Kurt's bed.<p>

It had all started when they had been watching a movie; a quarter of the way through, Blaine had stretched his arm around Kurt and very delicately began grazing his arm with the edges of his fingernails, raising goosebumps on Kurt's arm. Then he'd moved closer and closer, finally right next to Kurt's ear, and begun whispering what could only be described as sweet nothings in Kurt's ear, and holy hell Kurt was suddenly feeling very warm and well...that's how they'd gotten here, shirtless and horizontal on the bed, the laptop closed and forgotten on the floor while the boys gasped and moaned and touched and kissed.

Blaine was on top, pressing his body into Kurt's and in turn pressing Kurt into the mattress. He bent his knees so he was straddling Kurt and kneeling on the bed, grinding their hips together and making Kurt arch his back. Blaine laughed, knocking their teeth together and causing Kurt to grab his face in desperation.

"Mm, Blaine..." Kurt moaned as Blaine unbuttoned his pants (coincidentally, the shorts he had 'borrowed' so long ago and never returned) and rolled them down. "Oh..."

"Yes?" Blaine said between kisses, moving to unbutton his own pants and stretching out again.

"This...this is so...so good," Kurt panted, sliding his hands around to Blaine's back, memorizing the lines and planes. Blaine laughed again.

"Do not laugh at meeee," Kurt whined, making Blaine laugh yet again.

"You're cute, is all," he growled, nipping Kurt's earlobe and making the boy below him shudder.

"Hold on," Kurt gasped, squirming beneath Blaine to take off his pants.

"I like the way you think," Blaine said, standing up and kicking off his own pants before lowering himself back down onto Kurt's body.

Kurt moaned again, rolling his hips upwards into Blaine's, who ground back down with equal force. Kurt, whose hands were on Blaine's naked chest, curled his fingers and toes, arching his back, wanting more, more, so much more.

"Guh-Blaine," Kurt gasped, bucking upwards and fisting his hands into Blaine's now-unruly hair. Blaine responded by grinding his hips into Kurt's even harder, and sucking Kurt's lower lip into his mouth, and hot _damn_ did Blaine have a talented mouth. Kurt tightened his grip in his boyfriend's hair as Blaine danced his teeth and tongue around his lip.

It didn't take much-the friction was really all they needed before they were both coming in their underwear like a couple of preteen boys; but it didn't matter much, because Kurt would never get enough of this Blaine-induced high.

"I can't believe that just happened," Kurt panted several minutes later.

"What, that it feels like we just had mind-blowing sex without taking our clothes off, or that we both came our pants like thirteen-year-olds?"

"Both," Kurt said, and Blaine nuzzled his hair. "It was fun though."

A few minutes of silence passed, just the sound of their breathing filling the warm air.

"Well, I guess we should get cleaned up..." Kurt said, gently nudging his sweaty boyfriend off of him. "Shower time!"

Blaine sat up, a mischievous look in his eye.

"I don't think so, mister," Kurt said, catching on and laughing as he pulled fresh clothes out of his bureau. "As much as you would like to think that I'm a cock slut, I have _some_ dignity."

"What ever you say, babe," Blaine said, not losing his smug look, which Kurt pretended to ignore as he lead the way into the bathroom.

The boys stripped off their stained underwear and tossed them into the corner; Blaine leaned naked against the door as Kurt adjusted the taps, acutely aware of Blaine's eyes on him.

Once the water was of the appropriate temperature-practically scalding, just how Kurt liked it-Kurt stood back to let his boyfriend enter the stall first. Blaine stepped forward graciously, brushing the back of his hand along Kurt's jaw as he stepped over the porcelain edge under the spray.

"Jesus, Kurt," Blaine said as soon as the water hit him.

"What?" Kurt said innocently, joining him behind the curtain. "I like it hot."

Blaine waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Kurt rolled his eyes. "Hand me the shampoo, please." Blaine did so and watched intently as his boyfriend lathered up his hands and massaged them across his scalp. It was absolutely mesmerizing; Kurt had his eyes closed, working his hands evenly back and forth through his chestnut hair. After a moment, he opened one eye self-consciously. "What?"

Blaine realized he had been watching with his mouth slightly open. "Um...you're good at that, is all," he said sheepishly, and Kurt laughed.

"At washing my hair?"

Blaine nodded earnestly. "Will you wash mine?"

Kurt looked slightly surprised. "Yeah, sure," he said, stepping between Blaine and the wall to get under the water. "Let me rinse, and then...yeah."

Blaine stepped aside, holding the shampoo bottle and watching Kurt eagerly. The entire time, Kurt was giving him a you're-so-strange look, but Blaine didn't care. This was exciting.

"You are so bizarre," Kurt said, watching as Blaine thrust the bottle of strawberry-scented gel at him and turned around, his hands now clasped as if in prayer. When Blaine responded with only an excited wiggle, Kurt shrugged and squirted a dollop of shampoo into his palm, setting the bottle back on the shelf. He rubbed his hands together and slowly worked them into Blaine's hair, making his boyfriend go weak at the knees and clutch the wall for support.

"Blaine, I'm not going to do this for you if you're going to act this way," Kurt said, pulling his hands away in fake irritation.

"But it feels so good!"

Kurt rolled is eyes again and started massaging his fingers through Blaine's curly hair.

"You should be a hair stylist or something," Blaine slurred a moment later.

"Ha! That's way too stereotypical," Kurt said, pulling his hands away and turning to rinse them.

"And becoming a fashion designer isn't?"

"You make a fair point," Kurt said, gripping Blaine's shoulder and pulling him under the water. "Now let me rinse you."

* * *

><p>The next day, the sun was blinding as Kurt waltzed into Blaine's apartment building to pick him up for their lunch date. He patiently waited for the elevator, tapping his foot to the tacky jazz music that was playing once he was inside.<p>

He got out at the appropriate floor, walked down the hall to Blaine's apartment...and froze, fist hovering above the door.

There were angry shouts coming from inside; Blaine and his mother were clearly in a heated discussion.

"...and I just don't think it's appropriate for you to have him in your room with the door closed!" Barbra was saying.

"What difference does it make, you weren't even home!" Blaine retorted.

"Then maybe he shouldn't come over at all when I'm not here!"

"What do you have against us? I thought you liked Kurt! Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you!"

"Then what? Does if make you uncomfortable?"

"Frankly, yes! I just don't think it's appropriate for you to have a boy in your room-"

"What?" Blaine interrupted, his voice falling dangerously low, so that Kurt had to press his ear right against the door to hear. "What did you say?"

Silence.

Then, Ms. Anderson spoke very slowly: "You're just...you're so young, Blaine, I don't think you're really thinking about what you want.."

"Great. That's fantastic, Mom," Blaine said, and Kurt could practically hear him shaking. "I thought that once it was just you and me, maybe you would accept me for who I am, or at least understand enough to know that I_ know_ what I want." Blaine stopped speaking, and Kurt could hear footsteps. "I know what I want, Mom. I want Kurt, and that's it. That all I want, he's all I'll ever want. I love Kurt, Mom, and nothing you say is going to change that. I moved back in here because I thought you were okay with-"

"I am, Blaine! I don't care that you...that you're..."

"See?" Blaine shouted, and Kurt stepped back from the door. "You can't even say it!" Kurt heard him storming towards the door and took a few stumbling steps back.

"Where are you going? Dammit, Blaine!" Ms. Anderson shouted, and Kurt heard the sound of something breaking-a plate, maybe?

The door flew open, and there stood Blaine, red in the face and practically steaming. His fists were balled up at his sides and his flip-flops were on the wrong feet. Kurt could see Ms. Anderson's equally agitated face over his shoulder before he slammed the door shut and looked up.

His face fell immediately, his angry expression quickly being replaced by one of shame.

Neither of the boys said nothing for a moment as Blaine hung his head, his hand still on the doorknob.

"How much of that did you hear?" he said in a low voice, without looking up.

"Um..." Kurt said, but before he could properly answer, Blaine's head snapped up, his hazel eyes swimming with tears.

It absolutely broke Kurt's heart to see him this way; they'd come so far, made such progress, only to have it ripped away in a second. Without saying a word, Kurt opened his arms and Blaine stumbled forward, sobbing into Kurt's chest, his shoulders heaving. After only a few seconds of this, though, a door opened at the end of the hallway and a family began spilling out.

Blaine immediately stepped away from Kurt, wiping his face on his sleeve. "Let's just go," he said in a tear-ragged voice, and Kurt nodded.

They walked to the elevator in silence. The rode down in silence. They got in Kurt's car in silence. They drove in silence. They drove until they had passed the restaurant they had been planning on, they drove past the Lima Bean, past all the cafes and bistros on the mainstream. They drove until the reached the park, which, surprisingly, was abandoned.

Kurt reached forward to turn the key in the ignition, and they sat there for a while, completely silent. The windows were down, and there was a pleasant breeze playing across their faces; the only noise being the gentle rumble of thunder in the distance.

Kurt leaned his head against his seat, staring absently out the window until Blaine was ready to talk. After about five minutes, he heard the quietest of sniffs. He turned his head slowly to see Blaine with his face buried in his hands, his thin body wracked with the sobs he was trying so hard to hide from Kurt.

"Baby," Kurt said, reaching across to unbuckle Blaine's seatbelt and tugging him gently across the console to cradle him to his chest. "Blaine, baby, it's okay. It's okay." He rubbed Blaine's back in crazy circles, cooing and sh-ing, which seemed to finally convince Blaine that it was okay to cry. He tossed his arms around Kurt's neck, burying his face in Kurt's shoulder and...sobbed. Kurt just held him, nuzzling his hair as he tried to contain his own tears from the ache in his chest for Blaine.

"I j-just don't underst-stand," Blaine gasped, his breath hot against Kurt's neck. "I d-don't know what I c-c-can d-do to pl-please her! I th-thought she was d-different and...and she's not!"

Kurt remained silent because he didn't know what to say. What _could_ he say? Of course, he wanted to say all the horrible things that Ms. Anderson was-but he knew that wasn't what Blaine needed. Blaine needed to be held, to be comforted. He needed to hear that everything was okay and he needed to _know_ that it would be okay.

"It's just...it's a lot for her to handle," Kurt said soothingly, tracing _I love you_ over and over on Blaine's back without really thinking. "She went from no contact with you to having to deal with both of us on a regular basis."

"That's the thing though, Kurt," Blaine gasped. "She shouldn't have to _deal_ with us. She should accept us, Kurt!"

"She'll come around, Blaine," was all Kurt could say. "We just need to give her time. And maybe...tone it down a little around her."

"I don't want to have to hide myself in my own home," Blaine said sadly, his face still pressed into Kurt's shoulder.

"Well...there's always my house," Kurt said, and at this Blaine looked up to give him a watery smile.

"I love you," he said, and Kurt smiled back.

"I love you too."

* * *

><p>A few hours later, after a pizza (for Blaine) and whole wheat pasta (for Kurt) dinner, the boys had decided to go out for ice cream.<p>

"We can go to Get the Scoop," Blaine said excitedly, tugging Kurt's hand away from the restaurant after dinner.

Kurt laughed at his boyfriend's childlike enthusiasm, a pleasant contrast from the heartbreaking scene at the park, and allowed himself to be tugged along the sidewalk.

As Blaine pulled open the heavy glass door emblazoned with two smiling ice cream cones, Kurt was hit in the face with a gust of freezing, chocolate-vanilla-strawberry-minty ice cream scented air so powerful he almost stumbled back-but Blaine was hell bent on that ice cream, and pulled him forward into the crowded shop.

There was already quite the line; mostly chlorine-scented families with kids in water-soaked t-shirts and duck floaties on their arms, fresh from a day at the pool. Kurt and Blaine took their place at the end, content to wait.

Fifteen minutes later, they stepped up to the counter, and the frazzled-looking girl serving them instantly perked up at the sight of Blaine.

"Blaine! Hi!" she said in a chipper voice, completely ignoring Kurt.

"Hi Becky," he said with a smile, and gestured to Kurt. "This is Kurt."

"Nice to meet you," she said in a stale tone, shooting Kurt a fake smile and a second-long glance. "So what can I get you?" she said to Blaine, once again adopting a dazzling smile.

Kurt spent the time it took Blaine to order his triple banana split sundae-honestly, the way that boy ate sometimes-to give Becky a thorough examination.

She had brown hair, stick-straight by the looks of it, but at the moment it was in a high ponytail, so it was hard to be certain. Her bangs were blunt and straight across, with a stupid little split in the middle. Her teeth were perfectly white and straight, but her eyes were boring and brown, like mud.

She was cute, at best, but Kurt couldn't help feeling something hot and deep in his stomach.

"Becky seems nice," Kurt lied, once they were seated on the wooden deck outside the parlor.

"She is," Blaine said, not catching on as he dug into his ice cream. He sat with one hand on the table, using the other to shovel the stuff into his mouth. Self-consciously, Kurt leaned across the table and grabbed his free hand, and Blaine looked up and grinned.

* * *

><p>For the next couple of days, the boys tried to spend as much time away from Blaine's house as possible. They would meet or pick each other up in the morning, and return home minutes before curfew, sometimes breaking it or not going home at all, just spending all night tangled up in each other at Kurt's house.<p>

A week later, bored with coffee, bored with movies, and bored of Kurt's house, they found themselves on their favorite hill at the park, laying side by side on Blaine's picnic blanket-which he always kept handy in the back of his car-and staring at the starry sky. Blaine was telling a very funny story about how last time he had visited the beach at Ocean City, his father had attempted using a jet ski for the first time.

"Have you ever tried jet-skiing before?" Blaine asked when he was finished, looking over at Kurt and gripping his hand.

Kurt shook his head, tracing constellations in the sky with his eyes. "I've never even been to the beach before."

Blaine sat up, appalled. "What! You've never...how did I not know this?"

Kurt shrugged, finally looking over at him. "I don't know...it just never came up."

"Well...you'll go some day," Blaine said, moving to lay back down.

"Maybe you should take me," Kurt said, only half-joking.

"Huh...maybe I will..." Blaine said thoughtfully, too quiet for Kurt to hear.

* * *

><p>And then, all of a sudden, Blaine got busy, like,<em> really<em> busy with work, so Kurt took the time to hang out with Finn, and his parents. After a week and a half of not seeing Blaine-only texting and late-night phone calls-he was getting antsy.

Several times Kurt asked to come and visit Blaine, and each time he was turned down. Kurt tried to hide his hurt as best he could, but either he was really bad at it or Blaine just knew him really well, and Blaine caught on immediately, so he vowed to do whatever Kurt wanted as soon as he had a day off.

One Saturday in late July, Kurt came up with the perfect plan. He woke up early and went out to get supplies, returned home, and waited.

About ten AM, Blaine knocked on the door. Kurt pulled it open enthusiastically and tugged Blaine into the empty-except-for-them house.

"You can stay the night, right?" Kurt asked, taking the bag slung over Blaine's shoulder as a yes. He took the bag from him and tossed it on the floor, slid his thumbs through Blaine's belt loops, and gave him a swift kiss, all before Blaine could even open his mouth.

"And hello to you too," Blaine said, slightly surprised as he pulled Kurt closer and moved to kiss him again.

"No no, time for that later," Kurt said, twisting away from Blaine. "We have work to do!"

"Work?" Blaine groaned. "I've been working all week! I missed you!"

"And we will have plenty of time to get reacquainted later," Kurt said with a wink. "Finn's out for the night and Burt and Carole are having date night. So we'll be on our own for a while."

And the way Kurt said that, so...tempting and sultry (where had he learned that?) made Blaine's mouth fall open a little, which Kurt ignored as he lead him through the house...and back outside.

"Why are we outside?" Blaine said, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"Because!" Kurt said, gesturing to a slightly elevated area of the yard that was bordered in miniature white fence posts. "We're making a garden!"

"A...garden?" Blaine repeated. He'd never really taken Kurt for the outdoorsy gardening type, but the idea of Kurt in a floppy sunhat and overalls was suddenly very hysterical.

"You had better not be picturing me in overalls," Kurt said suspiciously.

Evidently Blaine had not been doing a very good job hiding his grin, so he shook his head innocently.

In any case, Kurt was not dressed in overalls-he was wearing a very nice blue t-shirt that really complimented his sparkling eyes and shorts.

Yeah, this was good too.

"Okay, lover boy," Kurt said, striding back over to Blaine and pulling him over to the garden. "Time to stop ogling and get to work!" He lead Blaine to the garden area and handed him a small spade, then turned to sort through the seeds.

"Uh...what do I do?" Blaine said awkwardly, hovering over the garden.

"Well, you could start by getting on your knees," Kurt said, glancing over his shoulder.

"If you insist," Blaine said with a devilish grin, which made Kurt turn pink.

"That's...I...not what I meant," Kurt stuttered, and Blaine shook his head.

"What ever you say."

"Shut up!" Kurt said, blushing deeper and dropping to his knees beside Blaine. "Now I figured we'd start with some petunias for our...love garden," he mumbled, and Blaine burst into laughter.

"Our love garden?"

"Yeah, our love garden," Kurt said, turning red again. "I thought it was cute."

"No, I love it!" Blaine said, slinging an arm around his boyfriend and kissing his cheek. "It's adorable, just like you."

Kurt grinned, and handed him a packet of seeds.

* * *

><p>They worked outside for much of the day, taking a few quick breaks here and there to get some water. Honestly, though, Blaine wasn't paying much attention to the heat or the gardening; he was stuck on Kurt, stuck on examining his profile and his gorgeous eyes, and his cute little nose and the way it wrinkled when he scrubbed the dirt from under his fingernails, and the way his mouth moved so beautifully when he was talking or singing, and his perfect hands that fearlessly dove into the dirt and arranged the plants and seeds carefully, like it was an art, and the line of his jaw and the curve of his marvelous shoulders, and the leanness of his body that he didn't give himself credit for, and his knees and calves and ankles and feet and the way they curved against the grass and just...Kurt.<p>

God, he was so in love. Over the moon.

It was probably then, Blaine would think later in life, that he realized just how much Kurt Hummel meant to him. He was...he was _perfect_. And even when he wasn't, Blaine loved him anyway. And it didn't matter what his parents thought, or what _anyone_ thought, really, because Blaine was so in love with this boy, and he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life, the rest of forever with him.

He just needed to ask.

But of course, that was crazy. They hadn't even graduated _high school_ yet, and what if Kurt wasn't as certain as he was?

Blaine glanced at Kurt from the corner of his eye; Kurt was whistling as he carefully read the package of begonia seeds.

He was so perfect it hurt.

It wasn't as if Blaine needed to propose, though. What if he got a promise ring? People still did that, right?

The question was, though, would Kurt like it? What if he said no?

The mere thought, as fleeting as it was, terrified Blaine beyond all reason.

But, um, now wasn't really a good time, because Kurt was suddenly standing over him, offering a hand.

"Blaine? Earth to boyfriend," Kurt laughed, wiggling his fingers. Blaine laughed in response and took Kurt's hand, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet.

"C'mon," Kurt said, "I'm starved. Let's order take-out for dinner."

Blaine grinned and rubbed his stomach with his free hand, pushing the premature anxiety from his mind.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, Kurt had Blaine pushed up against the shower wall, one leg hooked over his hip as he swirled his tongue around Blaine's mouth. Blaine moaned, his hands roving over Kurt's back and sliding down to cup his ass, which made Kurt thrust his hips forward into Blaine's pelvis, eliciting strangled gasps and moans from the both of them.<p>

Blaine's eyes were closed as he tried sucking Kurt's lower lip into his mouth, but suddenly Kurt's mouth was gone, and he was sliding down, down to a place he'd never been before, and oh, okay, this was really happening. He looked down at Kurt in a mixture of awe and disbelief, and Kurt looked right back, a slight smirk playing on his lips. That is, before they opened and he took Blaine's entire length into his mouth.

And well, yeah, Kurt was kind of really good at this.

Kurt was bracing himself on Blaine's thighs, and while it helped, Blaine still had to exercise a lot of control to keep from slamming himself into Kurt's mouth; but Kurt was doing a pretty good job of doing that himself: bobbing his head at the perfect rhythm so that Blaine could actually_ feel_ himself hit the back of Kurt's throat and oh-Kurt had obviously been paying attention because now he was humming and using one hand to cup Blaine's balls and oh good lord, it was coming, he could feel it. Kurt's cheeks were actually concave by this point, and Blaine was whining, his hands scrabbling for purchase against the slick wall as his knees grew weak-luckily, Kurt was supporting him somehow-and then Blaine was on the edge.

"Kurt," he gasped, "Kurt, I'm-" he couldn't manage to get the rest out before it happened, but Kurt had seemed to understand and kept moving his head. Even though he had expected it, evidently he had, um, not been prepared for the amount-it dribbled out of the corner of his mouth, and he swallowed what he could as he let Blaine fall from his mouth and Blaine slid down the wall.

Kurt kneeled in front of him, grinning as he wiped the corner of his mouth and leaned over Blaine to kiss him.

It was a strange feeling, tasting himself in Kurt's mouth, but a good one. And it filled Blaine with enough energy to pull himself to stand on his knees. "Stand up," he told Kurt, who complied immediately.

He kissed each of Kurt's perfectly pale thighs before moving in-he'd just taken Kurt's tip in his mouth when-_ding dong._

"Shit," Kurt said, his head snapping up. "I forgot about the food!"

_Damn those speedy Chinese!_ Blaine thought. He hesitated, then grinned mischieviously up at Kurt and continuing on with the job.

"Blaine, what are you doing?" Kurt said, already losing focus. "The food guy-"

"Let him wait, " Blaine said, pulling his mouth away. "This won't take long."

"Confident, are we?" And for good reason-Blaine had been sucking his cock for about half a second and Kurt was already coming undone.

The bell had only rung one more time before Kurt was finished, coming into Blaine's mouth and Blaine taking it. He kissed Kurt's abdomen, helped him to sit on the shower floor and said "Be right back." He stepped out of the shower curtain, threw on some shorts, and raced to the door, setting the food on the counter and returning to the bathroom in less than two minutes.

"Okay," Kurt panted as Blaine pulled aside the curtain and grinned down at him. "You're really good at that."

"You're not so bad yourself," Blaine said, raking his eyes down Kurt's body in such a way that he almost got hard again. "So, food, or real shower first?"

"Food, I suppose," Kurt said, holding out a hand so Blaine could help him up. He twisted the water off. "I think the water got us clean enough."

* * *

><p>Later that night, after food and showers, Kurt and Blaine were sitting on Kurt's sofa, eating ice cream and watching a movie. Blaine leaned against Kurt, his head on his shoulder, their legs out in front of them. Kurt was watching the movie, but Blaine was mesmerized by their feet; Kurt's small and slender, Blaine's a tad longer and wider. He hooked his pinky toe around Kurt's and giggled.<p>

"What are you doing?" Kurt said, looking down at their feet with a laugh.

"We're holding toes," Blaine laughed, and Kurt pressed his cheek to Blaine's hair.

"I love you so much."

Before long, the boys fell asleep that way; bowls abandoned, fingers and toes entwined. An hour or so later, Burt and Carole came home. Burt found them on the sofa, sound asleep and so content, and smiled. He tossed a blanket over them and shut the light off.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, here it is, chapter five! It's a smidge short than usual, but I think you'll understand why at the end.**

**Sorry it's been so long between updates; I thought the summer would give me more time, but I was wrong. I'm in the middle of a bunch of mini-vacations, so I'll do my best to write between them.**

**ANYWAY. I'd LOVE to hear what you think about this chapter...so leave a review (PLEASE) here orrrr on Tumblr (.) :] Hugs and kisses from Mama Porcelain!**

* * *

><p>Kurt found himself suddenly spending a lot of time thinking about...hands. Blaine's hands, specifically, and it had all started when they were working in the garden.<p>

Blaine had such pretty hands, and he did such pretty things with them, like play piano, and steal cake batter from the bowl, and play with Kurt's fingers, or his hair...they were so long and slender, with neatly trimmed and clean nails...Kurt found clean nails really sexy. So when he and Blaine ended up on a chaise lawn chair on Blaine's roof (their new favorite secret place), he couldn't help but examine them.

It was well after dark (the roof was far too hot while the sun was up), and Blaine was sitting on the chair, knees bent and Kurt between his legs, his back to Blaine's chest and their hands entwined on Blaine's thighs. Blaine had his head leaned back, eyes closed, but Kurt was gazing at their hands, marveling at Blaine's.

"What are you doing?" Blaine finally asked, looking up and opening one eye.

"You just have...you have really nice hands is all."

"Okay?" Blaine laughed.

"Shut up," Kurt said, slapping his thigh playfully. "You have your shoulder fetish, let me have my hands."

"I do not have a shoulder fetish!" Blaine said in mock offense. "It's only _your_ shoulders I find attractive," he said, and leaned forward to kiss one. Then he trailed a line of kiss up Kurt's neck to his jawline, and Kurt tilted his head and sighed. Blaine worked one hand under his shirt and used the other to move his collar aside so he could kiss his shoulder over and over.

Kurt was already half-hard as he arched his back away from Blaine; good _gravy_ his boyfriend had amazing hands. And as Blaine's nimble fingers danced across his skin, a thought he'd had several times before once again floated across his mind.

"Blaine?" he said timidly. He couldn't believe he was about to say this; thankfully it was dark, so Blaine couldn't see his blush.

"Mm?" Blaine said against his neck, making him shudder.

"Um, I've sort of been thinking..." he continued, absently playing with Blaine's fingers again. "I kind of...well, I tried...I tried watching _those_ movies again, and I...I um..." he took a deep breath. "I kind of want to know what your fingers feel like inside of me."

Holy.

Crap.

Did he really just say that? Did he, Kurt Hummel, self-proclaimed baby penguin, just as his boyfriend to.._.finger him?_

Yeah. He did.

Then he realized he had frozen and so had Blaine, frozen right in the act of kissing his shoulder, and oh God why did he say that, now Blaine was going to get really weirded out and offended and-

"Really?" Blaine asked in disbelief. "Like...now?"

"Well no, not now!" Kurt said, blushing violently. "Wait-does that mean...?"

"That I want to?" Blaine said calmly. "Cuz yeah, I kinda would like to."

Kurt's stomach dropped and he sat up. "You do? Why?"

Blaine shrugged. "I mean, I love you, and I just...I don't know."

"Oh," was all Kurt could think to say.

"Yeah."

There was an awkward pause.

"So..." Blaine said.

"So..." Kurt replied, and they laughed.

"Do you want to...go inside?" Blaine suggested, and Kurt nodded, the fact that Blaine's mother conveniently would be out late hovering in the back of his mind.

As they walked down the roof steps in silence, Kurt felt his stomach flutter again. This was the first time they had ever..._planned_ something like this, it had always just...happened.

_But this is kind of a big deal_, Kurt thought. _Like, a really big deal._

But he was ready. Totally ready to give himself over to Blaine like this. Then again, it wasn't as if this was the first time-they'd seen each other naked plenty of times before. This seemed different, though, and it kind of was.

So a few minutes later, when Blaine was leaning Kurt back on the bed, one hand behind his head and the other slipping under his shirt, Kurt just let himself over. The boys paused to get undressed, finally just pressed together, only underwear and skin.

"Hold on," Blaine said in Kurt's ear as he straddled him. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Kurt nodded, breathless. "Completely." He would have offered to do Blaine first, if it weren't for the fact that he had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to be doing...and if Blaine hadn't already retrieved a bottle of lube from his dresser-wait, he already had lube? Why? Was that normal? Did Kurt need to by some?

"...Kurt?" Blaine said, pulling him out of his reverie.

"Wha-?"

"I said are you ready," Blaine said nervously. "We don't have to..."

"No!" Kurt said-almost shouted, really-"I want to. Really."

Blaine grinned a little. "Okay," he said, hooking his finger over Kurt's waistband. "Then let me..." Kurt raised his hips a little, obliging Blaine's unspoken request.

Once Kurt was naked, Blaine slicked his fingers with the lube-and holy _shit_ was that hot. As Kurt watched, he felt his blood pump faster, felt the ache of need inside him...and then Blaine pressed two tender kisses to his thighs, and drew Kurt into his mouth.

Immediately Kurt arched his back, pushing himself deeper into Blaine's mouth and pressing his head into the mattress. He curled his toes as Blaine reached to cup his balls and hummed in short little spurts. After only a second though, Blaine looked up at him without moving his head, simultaneously moving his fingers back to hover around Kurt's entrance, making him shudder.

"Holy...Blaine..." Kurt moaned, and Blaine grinned-as well as he could, anyway-and hummed harder. He eased the very very tip of one slick finger to the edge of the ring of muscle, and felt Kurt contract around him and heard him whine. He felt Kurt's hands slide into his hair, and he slid his finger in further, making Kurt arch off the bed. He let Kurt fall from his mouth and kissed a trail up his torso to his neck and sucked his collarbone as he eased his finger in to the second knuckle. Kurt was panting by this point, his fingers scrabbling across Blaine's bare back. Blaine attached his lips to a spot on Kurt's neck and sucked for all he was worth, ensuring an almost instant hickey as he twitched his finger ever so slightly.

Kurt felt Blaine's finger hit a spot-what was _this?-_-and he gasped, jerking off the bed violently. "Blaine, please, more, more..." he moaned, and Blaine laughed softly against his neck.

"More, you say?" he whispered in Kurt's ear, and he nodded frantically, so Blaine positioned a second finger appropriately and gently pushed in.

"Holy hell," Kurt breathed, his breath coming in short gasps as Blaine bent his fingers again. "Holy...hell..."

Blaine pulled his fingers out slightly, making Kurt shudder, and thrust them back in, colliding with the nub inside him and making him cry out.

"Jesus, Kurt," Blaine said, pulling his fingers out slightly once more. "It's a good thing my mom's not home...I've never heard you so vocal."

"I didn't know it was possible to feel like this," Kurt whispered, squirming beneath Blaine as he pushed his fingers back in again. Blaine kept a steady rhythm, in and out with his fingers, Kurt whining and moaning and squirming until Blaine couldn't take it anymore-he needed to touch more.

He worked his mouth back down Kurt's body to his cock once more and took it all in, sucking and bobbing his head to match his fingers, still moving. A few strokes later, Kurt came among a chorus of "Blaine, Blaine, Blaine", and he took it all, quickly withdrawing his fingers and moving to look at his boyfriend.

But, um, there was a bit of a problem.

Kurt still had his eyes closed, panting, his whole body flushed. He was spread across the bed, looking positively angelic...and really,_ really_ hot.

_Damn_. Kurt was literally turning him on so much right now it_ hurt_, and he wasn't even clothed. He reached down to touch himself but felt Kurt's hand knock his away.

"Please," Kurt whispered, looking through his lashes. "Let me..."

Kurt wrapped a hand around him and began to stroke, and seeing Kurt like that and feeling Kurt touch him, Blaine couldn't stop himself from thrusting into Kurt's hand, and after only a few seconds, Blaine had come too, all over Kurt's hand and the bed.

Blaine fell backwards onto the matress next to his boyfriend; he turned their bodies so he could be the big spoon. He kissed the back of Kurt's neck and nuzzled his face in his hair, and whispered: "I love you."

"Love you more," Kurt whispered back, turning to face Blaine and pressing their foreheads together. "You are absolutely perfect."

"You must be rubbing off on me," Blaine whispered, and Kurt flashed a smile before leaning forward to kiss him.

They stayed silent for a moment, just breathing against one another, until Blaine whispered, "Well...I guess we had better clean up before my mom gets home..." and Kurt sighed against him.

"Can I stay the night, do you think?" he whispered, fearing the answer but not showing it.

Blaine hesitated; his mother...but after what they'd just done, after that step, he wasn't going to bed alone, and he certainly wasn't going to let Kurt do that. So he nodded. "Yup," he said, "Sure thing. You can shower first."

Kurt smiled, pressing a quick kiss to Blaine's forehead, and walking to the dresser, carefully selecting pajamas to borrow.

As Kurt showered, Blaine threw his pants back on and set about cleaning; and as he cleaned, he thought.

He loved Kurt; he knew that, had known it for a while, and Kurt knew too.

So. What now?

He wanted to marry Kurt.

He knew that too. The problem was...Kurt didn't. So...how to tell him?

Just as Blaine was plotting, the bathroom door opened and Kurt trotted out, hair askew and smelling of shampoo.

"You're done already?" Blaine exclaimed. "I never took you for the quick shower type..." Blaine said, and Kurt wrapped his arms around his waist.

"I missed you, is all," he whispered, and Blaine laughed.

"I'm afraid you'll have to hold of just a smidge longer, love," he said, pulling away. "I have to shower too."

"Hurry back," Kurt whispered, and Blaine practically ran to the bathroom.

When Blaine emerged, he found Kurt in the darkened bedroom, fresh sheets and blankets already on the bed, and a movie playing on the laptop. He sat, stiff and wooden, against the headboard on one side of the bed, his legs straight out in front of him, but when Blaine slid in next to him, he melted, wrapping one arm around him and leaning into him.

Just as Blaine was nodding off, he felt Kurt turn his head and kiss the underside of his chin. "Hey B?"

"Yeah Kurt?"

"I just...I love you."

Blaine smiled. "Love you too."

* * *

><p>A few days later, Kurt was at home, alone except for Carole. He was sitting in the kitchen, window overlooking his and Blaine's "love garden" open, the latest issue of Vogue open in front of him. Finn and Burt had gone to some sort of ball game, and Carole was in the living room, watching <em>Desperate Housewives.<em>

As Kurt flipped a page, he heard the TV turn off and Carole trotted into the kitchen. She pulled out the chair across from him, rested her chin on her palm, and smiled.

Kurt looked up through his lashes. "...what?"

"Let's talk about Blaine."

Kurt raised an eyebrow, closing the magazine. "Okay...what about him?"

"You guys are in love, huh?" she said, matter-of-factly.

He took a second to look shocked at her bluntness, then nodded. "Yeah. We are."

"I'm proud of you, Kurt," Carole said, reaching over to pat his hand. "And I know Burt's already talked to you about...you know, the more...physical...aspects of your relationship."

Kurt shuddered internally at the thought. "Yes, he has."

Carole laughed. "I'm really happy for you, Kurt. And I want you to know that you can talk about him, you know. You don't have to keep your feelings bottled up. I know he makes you happy, and so does Burt. So if you're happy, we're happy. Celebrate."

Kurt smiled and squeezed her hand. "Thanks, Carole."

She returned the smile and stood up, making her way out.

"Wait!" Kurt called, and she paused, hand on the door frame. "Carole..."

"Yes, Kurt?"

"I was wondering...is it...is it okay if I, you know...start calling you...mom?"

Carole's mouth formed a small, surprised O, which quickly turned into a watery smile.

"Of course you can," she whispered, and hurried back to him, scooping him up in a tight hug.

* * *

><p>The next day, as Kurt followed Carole into the house after their impromptu lunch date, they ran into Blaine.<p>

"Blaine? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?"

"Everything is great," Burt said, emerging from the kitchen and clapping Blaine on the shoulder. "How was lunch?"

"What's going on?" Kurt said suspiciously, ignoring his father as she looked back and forth between Burt and Blaine.

"Nothin'," Burt said, and Blaine nodded.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," he said with a wink, and Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Fine, whatever, have your silly schoolgirl secrets," he snapped. "Carole and I have them too," he said, and stomped up the stairs. Blaine and Burt shared a look of supressed laughter behind his back before Blaine followed him.

"To be honest, I was kind of expecting balloons," Kurt said as he opened his bedroom door. "Or rose petals, at the very least."

"Balloons? Really? You'd like that?" Blaine said, amused as he flopped onto Kurt's bed.

Kurt opened his mouth and gave his boyfriend a suspicious look. "Don't get any ideas."

"Never ever."

Kurt opened his mouth to reply again, but thought better of it. He shrugged and sat Indian-style on the bed next to Blaine.

"C'mere," Blaine said, putting his hands on Kurt's waist and pulling him down on top of him. "I love you."

"I love you too," Kurt said, and Blaine cupped the back of his neck to bring their mouths together.

Just as it was getting heated, Blaine laughed and gently rolled Kurt off of him. "Well," he said, "Can't be late for work. See ya later!"

"Did you really just do that?" Kurt said, arms crossed. "You're a jerk."

"I know," Blaine said, laughing as he kissed Kurt's forehead. "Love you!"

"Love you too," Kurt said, rolling his eyes once more. "I guess."

He could hear Blaine laugh all the way downstairs.

* * *

><p>The next morning, early, Kurt was woken by the buzzing of his phone:<p>

**B: Can I come over? Please?**

**K:...now?**

**B: Please, Kurt.**

**K: Yes! Of course!**

**B: See you in ten.**

So that's how, at six forty-five on a balmy Thursday morning, Kurt found himself holding a sobbing Blaine on the floor behind the front door. Blaine had stumbled in, still in his pajamas and already crying, and seized Kurt, and the two of them had sunk to the floor, Blaine's body shaking, and Kurt rubbing his back, soothing and cooing and trying not to fear the worst.

It was a little while before Kurt could calm Blaine down enough to figure out what had happened; after almost half an hour on the floor, he'd coaxed Blaine up and into the kitchen, where he was sitting now, slumped against the cabinets as Kurt hurriedly fixed a pot of coffee.

"Okay," Kurt said, coming to sit cross-legged on the tile in front of Blaine. He took both of Blaine's hands. "What happened?"

"I was...I was just sleeping, and...and I woke up because I heard talking," Blaine said, clutching Kurt's hands to him. Kurt scooted closer so that their knees were touching. "And my Mom was in there...talking...and we...," he hesitated.

"Yes, Blaine? What happened?"

"A-and my Mom was talking ab-about..." Blaine hesitated. "About you, and me, and...and we just...got in another fight."

"Blaine..." Kurt said softly; he got the feeling there was more to the story. But Blaine just shook his head and broke down into fresh tears. "Blaine," Kurt breathed, and scooted to sit next to him. He wrapped both arms around Blaine and drew him close; he felt fresh, warm tears leak onto his shirt, but he didn't mind. All he cared about was Blaine. "It's okay, baby, it's okay, it'll all be okay, I promise."

Blaine sniffed, and raised his head. "Can we just...can we go to bed?"

"Of course," Kurt said, standing and helping Blaine up. "Of course we can."

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Kurt woke up alone.<p>

"Blaine?" he said. No answer.

The clock read 10:19; Blaine's shoes were gone, and his pajamas were ditched over the back of Kurt's desk chair. Oh, and there was a note too:

_K-_

_Went to work. Feeling better. Be by later. I love you._

_-B_

Well that was significantly less than reassuring.

Kurt got dressed, grabbed his keys, and headed for the door.

* * *

><p>As Kurt approached the ice cream parlor, something stopped him. Through the window he could see Blaine and that girl-what was her name? Becky?-behind the counter. Becky was chatting animatedly, and she kept touching Blaine-his arm, his hair...she just wouldn't stop! And Blaine...was laughing! And then...<p>

As Blaine moved away, Kurt watched Becky reach down and...

Grab.

His.

Ass.

Oh, _hell_ no. This girl would _have_ to go.

Without waiting to see Blaine's reaction, Kurt pulled open the heavy door to the shop. "Hey Blaine!" he sang, and shot Becky a glare.

Blaine looked up like a deer in headlights. "Kurt!"

"Yeah," Kurt said, "I thought I'd come see you at work, since, you know..."

"No, you didn't...you didn't have to do that..."

"But I wanted to," Kurt smiled, leaning over the counter for a kiss, but before he could touch down...Blaine was gone.

"Don't worry, Blainers," Becky said._ Blainers_? Kurt felt something red-hot-jealousy?-well inside of him. "Any friend of yours is a friend of ours!"

Blaine forced a smile and looked back at Kurt. "Look, Kurt, I think-"

"Blaine, calm down, I just wanted to come by and see how you were doing-"

"I'm fine, Kurt," Blaine snapped, making Kurt draw back, slightly hurt. Blaine softened his expression. "I'm sorry, I

just...sorry."

"It's okay," Kurt smiled, and before Blaine could stop him, Kurt cupped his face in one hand, and pulled him across to kiss him on the mouth.

Blaine broke contact in less than a second. Kurt felt his heart sink; what was the _matter_ with him? He tried searching Blaine's face for an answer, but Blaine was looking at Becky.

Becky was standing to the side, her jaw dropped in total shock.

"Becky," Blaine whispered, taking a step towards her, arm outstretched. "Please..."

But without a word, Becky shook her head and ran into the back of the shop.

Blaine let his hand fall, and hung his head. Kurt let a silent moment pass before-"...Blaine?"

"I think you should go, Kurt," Blaine said quietly.

"I-what?" Kurt felt his heart sink even more, and felt color rise in his cheeks. "Why?"

"I told you not to come here, Kurt," Blaine said. "Why can't you just listen for once? The world doesn't revolve around you!"

Kurt stook a step back, startled. "I-"

"I asked you to do one thing for me, Kurt, one thing, and you couldn't do. Why the hell not? Do you _know_ what I've given up for you?"

"Blaine, please-you were upset, I-" Kurt sputtered, tears coming to his eyes. Why was Blaine being so _mean_?

"I was _fine_, Kurt," Blaine snapped. "I just got in a fight with my stupid parents. Why did you have to come down here and-and_ kiss_ me?"

"Because I thought it would make you feel better!" Kurt cried, tears falling freely now. He noticed that Blaine was crying too.

"Well it didn't, Kurt!" Blaine half shouted. "You made it worse! God, why can't you understand? Why do you have to be so...so...so_ gay_?"

The boys gasped and stepped back simultaneously. "Kurt-" Blaine breathed, a hand clapped over his mouth. Anguish and pain and just..._hurt_ washed over Blaine, and he ran around the counter, coming towards Kurt with outstretched arms, but Kurt backed away.

"No," Kurt whispered. "I...I have to go."

"Kurt, I'm-" Blaine began, but Kurt shook his head and turned to leave. His last glimpse of Blaine was the curly headed boy slumped over the counter, head in hands.

And then he was gone.

* * *

><p><strong>DUN.<strong>

**DUN.**

**DUNNNNNNNNNNNN.**


	6. Chapter 6

**B: Kurt, can we talk?**

**K: No.**

**B: Kurt, please.**

**B: Kurt?**

* * *

><p>Kurt had been called a lot of names before, but this one hurt the most.<p>

Hands-down.

* * *

><p>The dawn of a new day-and the dawns of several days after that-found Kurt swaddled in blankets in bed, the bed that they had shared so many nights. Kurt had changed the sheets what felt like a hundred times in a pointless effort to rid himself of the all-too-familiar scent that filled his lungs and plagued his dreams. But it was useless; everything he owned smelled like Bl-<p>

No. That hurt.

God, this sucked. They needed to...they needed to resolve this, to talk it out. Because as much as that would hurt...

This hurt too. Bad.

He was so pathetic. He'd spent the two days since...the incident...in bed, watching sappy romance movies and listening to Teenage Dream on repeat. What was wrong with him?

It was so unlike him to be reduced to tears...no, worse than tears, whatever_ this_ was...over a boy. His face was red and puffy, his hair an absolute mess.

This, he was certain, was rock bottom.

* * *

><p>The next day, Burt came home from work an made a beeline for Kurt's room. He knocked once and pushed into the room.<p>

"Kurt?" he said, and let a few empty moments pass before quietly backing out of the room.

* * *

><p>Knock, knock.<p>

Kurt didn't bother answering as Finn cracked open the door and poked his head in.

"Uh, Kurt?"

Kurt rolled over, his back to the door.

"I know you're, uh, like, sick and stuff..." Kurt had told his family he was seriously ill; that he had caught it from Blaine, who was also at home in bed. "But I can't shake the feeling that...you're not sick."

"Brilliant deduction, Holmes."

"Is it...Blaine?"

"Ding ding ding."

"Did you guys...get in a fight?"

"Please go away, Finn."

"No," Finn said, pushing open the door. "You're my brother, and...you're upset."

"You're on a roll today."

"Stop!" Finn said, and Kurt rolled to face him.

"What do you want from me, Finn?"

Finn paused. "I...I. don't want you to be sad anymore."

"Me either."

* * *

><p>Later that evening, there was another knock on Kurt's door. This time, it was Carole.<p>

"Hi, Kurt, how are you feeling?"

"Slightly worse than miserable." He felt her warm hand on his back through the blankets.

"Finn told me what you said," she whispered. "Have you tried talking to him?"

"No," Kurt said. "Why should I? It's his fault!"

"Has he tried to apologize?"

Kurt didn't say anything.

"Okay," Carole continued. "And did you answer him?"

"No," Kurt said. "I don't want to talk to him."

"I don't believe that," Carole said, "Not for a second."

Kurt wiped his eyes under the duvet, and Carole patted his shoulder.

"Tomorrow I'm taking you out for lunch," she said, standing up. "You need to get out of this room."

* * *

><p>Admittedly, Kurt was kind of looking forward for a chance to get dressed and get out of the house, because as hard as it was going to be to put on a happy face in public, it was a million times worse laying in his bed and stewing.<p>

As he shifted through his clothes, he felt his breath catch as he touched the soft fabric of Blaine's Dalton shirt. He drew his hand back as if he'd been bitten.

Once he was dressed in something less heartbreaking, he was setting to work on his hair-nearly a week without a deep-condition had not been kind-when there was a knock on the front door.

That was when the flowers started.

* * *

><p>By the time Kurt returned home from lunch with Carole, there were two more bouquets.<p>

By dinner there were five. The sixth and seventh arrived as he was getting ready for bed, and he was running out of storage space.

* * *

><p>The next day, Kurt had plans with Mercedes. There was a sample sale at the Burberry outlet at the mall-practically the only decent store in Lima-and they had planned to be out all day.<p>

"Finn told me about you and Blaine," Mercedes had said bluntly when they stopped for a quick lunch. When Kurt opened his mouth to protest, Mercedes interrupted. "Not that I couldn't have figured it out myself. You're in a serious funk, boy. Kurt without Blaine just ain't right."

When Kurt returned home at seven-thirty that night, feet and body aching from a job well done, he was not expecting more flowers. And he certainly wasn't expecting ten more bouquets of them, lining the foyer like soldiers.

"There wasn't space in your room," Carole called from the dining room. She sounded as if she was fighting laughter.

Kurt rolled his eyes. Although quality time with Mercedes had helped...it still stung.

So Kurt climbed the stairs with a heavy heart, planning n falling into bed for the next fifteen hours or so...until he opened his door.

"Aaaaaaah!" Kurt screamed, stumbling backwards in shock. An avalanche-a literal avalanche-of balloons was spilling out of his bedroom, forcing him back down the hallway. He sat up in bewilderment, a few stray balloons bouncing and gliding past him. After an open-mouthed moment gaping back down the hallway, he laughed. What else_ could_ he do?

Using the wall for support, he struggled to his feet and waded back to his room, which was flooded with balloons of every color. And...rose petals. Rose petals everywhere, covering every surface. His room smelled like a freaking greenhouse or something.

But as touching, and as sweet as this was...Blaine wasn't even _here_-was he? With all the balloons, it was hard to tell. But no; after a thorough examination (which required a lot of scooping and pushing and tossing of balloons), he affirmed that Blaine was not there.

So Kurt got into his pajamas, ignored three more texts and two voicemails, and got into bed.

* * *

><p>He was wandering, wandering through a really dark place. He couldn't really see much, only make out the hazy shapes of the people and things he was passing. After a while, he became aware that something was following him; something huge and hulking was after him. His heart pounding, he ran. Or at least, he tried to run; his feet moved faster, but the scenery passed at the same rate. But the beast behind him was getting closer. So he ran faster, and faster...and finally, he saw it: a shift, a glimmer of light. He didn't know what it was, just knew that whatever it was had to be better than this. So he ran faster, and steadily the light got bigger, until finally he tumbled into it, onto a staircase. The feeling of being followed was gone, but the people around him were still only blurred outlines.<p>

He made his slow way down the staircase, but something caught his attention, something warm, something familiar. Someone, someone real and not blurred, was coming down the stairs towards him; he was passing-no! Kurt needed to stop him, Kurt needed his help, he was sure of it! Kurt reached out his hand and-

-woke with a start.

His heart was pounding as he stared blindly around the room. The balloons made it look as if he were floating, lost on a still, silent ocean.

Kurt crossed his arms over his chest, gripping his shoulders and holding himself together-because if he didn't, who would? Who was there to keep him from falling apart?

No one.

Kurt tried to be as quiet as he could as sobs overcame him; he laid back on his pillow, shaking, eyes squeezed tight, and then...he heard it.

A...piano?

Had he left his iHome on?

A voice.

He hadn't been listening to Blaine's CD, the one he'd made so they could practice duets, even when they were apart. He was a masochist, but he wasn't _that_ mean.

Something hit his window. A...pinecone?

Kurt vaulted out of bed, wrenching his curtains apart.

And there he was, looking like something out of a teenage girl's dream-an electric keyboard in front of him and looking like a proverbial prince.

_I think you're pretty, without any make-up on,_

_I think you're funny, when you tell the punchline wrong,_

_I know you get me, so I let my walls come down,_

"Down," Kurt breathed, opening his window.

_Before you met me, I was alright_

_But things were kinda heavy,_

_You brought me to life,_

_Now every February, you'll be my valentine..._

As Kurt watched and listened to this heart-breakingly beautiful rendition of Teenage Dream, he took a moment to look at Blaine.

His hair looked unruly and ungelled-but it was his shirt that really grabbed his attention.

Across Blaine's chest in big black letters, a white t-shirt read 'I LIKE BOYS'.

_You came to Dalton, and dropped into my life,_

_I grabbed your hand...and never want to let go?_

Kurt couldn't help but laugh at Blaine's clearly improvised lyrics-he almost forgot to be mad.

_I finally found you, my missing puzzle piece,_

_I'm complete!_

Kurt remaind silent as Blaine finished the song, tears coming to his eyes. Once again, he clutched his hand to his heart, this time afraid it would burst with love...but what Blaine had done still hurt. A lot.

"Kurt," Blaine whipser-shouted up to him, once he was finished. "I'm sorry, okay? Really, really sorry. And I love you, a lot." Kurt opened his mouth to reply but Blaine stopped him: "I know that's not enough, just to say that. I owe you a real apology, an explanation...I owe you so much more than this. So...please, Kurt, hear me out, and let me apologize." Kurt said nothing. "So...can I come up?"

Kurt remained silent, staring down at Blaine (who looked even smaller than usual from the second story). He looked back at his clock; 2:37 AM. Just as Blaine dropped his head, Kurt sighed. "Fine." He made to go open the door, but Blaine called back up.

"No! Wait! I'm going to climb!" Blaine said, darting over the side of the house and searching for a handhold.

"And how do you intend to do that?" Kurt said, resting his elbow on the sill and leaning his head in his hand.

"Uh," Blaine said as he ran his hands over the smooth wall. "I dunno...oh! I got it! Make me a rope with your sheets!"

"Blaine, please," Kurt said exasperatedly. "Just come through the door like a normal person."

"No, I want to do this right! Like...a prince!" Blaine said.

Kurt sighed again. "Fine," he said, moving away from the window. "But if you fall and die..."

"If I fall and die, what?" Blaine called. Kurt could practically hear him grinning.

"Nothing," Kurt said, stripping his bed. Quickly and carefully, he tied knots into the ends, testing them as best he could. He tied one end around the leg of his bed frame, and tossed the other out the window.

He leaned out, watching Blaine scale the wall. It took him a few tries to get going, but eventually he was moving, slowly, one foot at a time. "Don't look down," Kurt called, and he rolled his eyes.

Finally, he hooked his legs over the window sill and pulled himself into the room. He smiled at Kurt in the moonlight, reaching out his hand to brush it across Kurt's cheekbone, but hesitated-would Kurt let him?

He did.

"Can I kiss you?" Blaine whispered, and Kurt shook his head, a little sadly.

Blaine let his hand drop. "So...should we sit down?"

Kurt shrugged, moving back to sit cross-legged on the bed. Blaine sat across from him and offered his hands. After a moment's thought, Kurt gave him one.

"So..." Blaine said after a moment, "I guess I should start at the beginning." When Kurt said nothing, he took a deep breath, and began. "When I came to your house the other day...I...didn't exactly tell the truth," Blaine admitted, and Kurt couldn't stop himself from interrupting.

"Yeah, I figured that much," he said hotly. "Which is why I thought I would try to cheer you up by surprising you at work. Bad idea if you ask me, I wouldn't recommend it."

Blaine dropped his gaze and wiped one of his eyes.

"Sorry," Kurt whispered.

"No, I deserved that," Blaine said, and took another deep breath. "That night, or morning, I guess, I had woken up because I heard talking. I went into the kitchen and...my Dad was there. He and my mom were talking...about us." Kurt tried to keep his face impassive as Blaine looked up at him. "And my Dad started yelling at me, asking how _dare_ I force myself and what I am on my mother...and he took a swing at me, but he missed. He was drunk, I think," Blaine said softly, and Kurt had to resist the overwhelming urge to touch his face. "He said that I was disgusting, and filthy, and that he was glad he was rid of me, and that I should leave my mother alone..." Blaine's voice had started to shake, and Kurt took his other hand. "And he..."

Blaine shook his head.

"What?" Kurt said earnestly, scooting closer. "Blaine, tell me," he said, needing to understand, needing to know. "What did he do?"

"I don't want to hurt you," he whispered.

Kurt was half-tempted to reply with a snarky "You already did", but seeing Blaine in a state of such pain and torment...he couldn't. Instead, he whispered, "This is tearing you up, Blaine. You can't keep this inside. Please tell me."

"He...he said that it was you who did this to me, that I was...normal...before you. He said that I...that we were the reason our family was torn apart, and that we...were wrong," Blaine took a shaky breath. "And he said he's moving back in, Kurt. My mom asked him to, because...Kurt, my mom lost her job. That's why I got one, because she lost hers and couldn't get another. That's why sometimes I would get really busy, because I was working other jobs too, and that's why my mom is always home late, because she's looking for a job. And Mr. Jay, the man who owns Get the Scoop? He...he doesn't like people like us, Kurt, he really doesn't, that's why I didn't want you to come see me there. I was hiding you, and I was lying, and I'm ashamed." He was crying freely now, and used the back of his hand to wipe his eyes without letting go of Kurt's. "And Becky...she's his daughter, and she wanted me to like her like she liked me, even though she...even though she knew. About me. And us. And when you came to the store that day, Kurt, I just..I got so scared, and I...I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry," he said, and collapsed forward into Kurt's chest. Immediately, Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine's sobbing form, shhing and cooing and rubbing.

"Blaine, Blaine baby, it's okay, it's okay," he said, nuzzling Blaine's hair. "I promise, it's okay. I'm sorry too, and I...I love you, Blaine, I really really love you."

For a while, they sat like that, until Blaine calmed down and a question entered Kurt's mind.

"Blaine...have you been staying at home this whole time?"

Blaine shook his head and sniffed. "No," he said. "I've been bouncing between Nick's, and Jeff's, and Wes'," he said, naming off a few of the Warblers. "I...I don't want to go home, Kurt, I can't."

Kurt felt his heart breaking in his chest. "No, honey, of course not. You...you can stay here tonight, okay?"

Blaine nodded against Kurt's chest. "God, this week has been hell."

"I know," Kurt said, laughing a little. "Absolute torture."

"Really?" Blaine asked, pulling away and looking up at him.

"Yeah," Kurt said. "I almost set fire to our love garden."

Blaine gave a watery chuckle. "Did you like the balloons? And the rose petals? I've been saving money for a really long time in case I needed to do something like this for you."

"...You're insane," Kurt said, "But yes. I loved them. And I love you." He pressed a kiss to Blaine's forehead.

"I love you too," Blaine replied, and sniffed again. "Let's never fight again, okay?" he said.

"Deal," Kurt said, pulling him close again.

"And Kurt?" Blaine said into his shoulder.

"Yeah Blaine?"

"...can I be the little spoon tonight?"

Kurt laughed. "Of course," he said, and turned Blaine around to kiss the bottom of his neck.

And just like that, they were one again.

* * *

><p><strong>Hooray for Klaine! Yaaaaaaay! I hope all of that made sense to you all...and I hope you can forgive Blaine too (even though he can't cuddle you like he cuddles Kurt)!<strong>

**I'm really hoping you all didn't think I was ACTUALLY going to break them up...not even RIB would do that ;]**

**Also, sorry this chapter is a tad short (for obvious reasons, I think), but I've already started on the next bit. I think I know where I'm going with this story...just not how to get there. So bear with me, please! Lots of love (great mushy Klaine love :])!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello my lovely (and hopefully faithful) readers! I am SO so so so sorry for the delay; just as Klaine's summer is drawing to a close, so is mine, so I'm scrambling to get things prepared for my senior year (eep!). To make up for it, though, here is a longer-than-normal chapter full of smufftastic angst! There's a little something for everyone in this chapter, I think...so enjoy :]!**

* * *

><p>Blaine ended up quitting his job at Get the Scoop. The pressure to be what he so clearly was not was really getting to him, and as long as he was staying with Kurt (again), money wasn't that big of an issue. And like he had said, he'd been saving money over the years, from birthdays and Christmases, odd windfalls...just in case.<p>

It hurt Kurt's heart that it had to be this way; that Blaine had to hide, that Blaine felt as if he couldn't go home (as much as he liked having Blaine to hold every night). And as much as Blaine tried to put up a brave face, Kurt knew it was affecting him, at least a little, so Kurt tried his hardest to normalize things, to make Blaine feel at home.

And to cuddle. A lot.

So that's what the were doing a week later; Blaine had woken up, shaking and half-hysterical, from a nightmare, and frantically searched the bed for Kurt's familiar shape, and now he was clasped to Kurt's chest as if he was drowning and Kurt was a life boat.

"I dreamed that I was sick again," Blaine gasped, burying his face in Kurt's shirt. Kurt held him tighter, feeling the ever-so-slight raise on his back where is surgery scar was. "Do you remember when I was sick, Kurt?" he whispered.

Kurt nodded slowly. "I will never forget it, as long as I live," Kurt whispered back. "It was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me."

"I love you so much, Kurt," Blaine said. "Why can't they understand?"

"I don't know, honey," Kurt murmured, nuzzling Blaine's soft curls. "I don't know."

"I can't do this forever," Blaine said, finally lifting his head to look at Kurt. "I can't stay here forever."

"Yes you can," Kurt said softly. "I will _never_ make you leave."

* * *

><p>The next day, when Mercedes called to invite them to go bowling with her and the rest of New Directions, Kurt jumped at the chance. Blaine needed a pick-me-up and bowling was fun.<p>

And it had been, like, _forever_ since they'd done anything even remotely date-y.

"Mercedes wants us to go bowling," he said, pulling open the bedroom curtains. "Okay?"

Blaine rolled over, pulling his head from under the pillow and squinting in the bright sunlight. "Okay..."

"Hooray!" Kurt said, bounding over to the bed and jumping on top of him. He rested his elbows on the bed, laying on top of Blaine as he kissed him. "Feeling better?"

Blaine thought for a moment, and nodded. "I always feel better after a night in your arms."

Kurt smiled and allowed another moment of sweet boy kisses before lithley rolling off of him. "C'mon, Skippy, up and at 'em!"

"You are so chipper in the mornings," Blaine grumbled, shoving his head back under the pillow.

"But you love it," Kurt winked, and Blaine smiled, only the bottom half of his face visible.

"It's hard not to."

* * *

><p>When Kurt and Blaine arrived at the bowling alley a few hours later, the rest of their group was already there: Brittany and Santana were back to their pinky-linked ways, Puck and Lauren were making moon eyes over a plate of cheese fries, Mike and Tina were weighing bowling balls, Rachel was on Finn's lap, and Sam and Mercedes were busy filling in everyone's names on the overhead screen.<p>

Blaine and Kurt sat down a few chairs away from Finn and Rachel to put on their shoes. Just as Blaine finished doing up his laces, he noticed Kurt giving one of his shoes a distasteful glare.

"Okay...what'd the shoe do?" Blaine laughed, turning to him.

Kurt pinched the shoe's lip between his thumb and forefinger. "How do they expect me to wear a shoe that hundreds of other people have worn before me?"

Blaine laughed again. "Maybe you should buy your own bowling shoes."

"I used to have a pair...but I outgrew them," Kurt said, dropping the shoe. Blaine laughed yet again, coming to his knees in front of Kurt and lacing up his shoes.

"You're adorable," Blaine said, and Kurt patted his head.

"Good boyfriend," he said, scratching an ear.

"Whoa, Anderson," Puck called, "How many times have you been in that position?"

Kurt rolled his eyes and helped a now-blushing Blaine to his feet. "Ignore him," he said, nudging Blaine with his elbow.

"Who's ready to play?" Mercedes sang, clapping her hands, and the group cheered.

It became really clear really fast that Kurt was...naturally talented at bowling. He was the third person to bowl, after Finn and Puck, and he scored a perfect strike, whereas the others had only managed eight pins each.

A few frames into the game, Blaine started getting antsy. He wasn't good at bowling-at all. So while it was kind of fun watching the others for a while...it was getting old. Fast.

As the game progressed, Kurt kept getting strikes, kicking all of their butts. Blaine watched, his jaw dropped in awe.

Okay, partly dropped in awe, partly dropped in the way that Kurt's jeans were hugging him in a positively indecent way. It was..._obscene_ how good he looked. And the way he wound his arm before bowling, the way one of his feet popped into the air...Blaine could hardly contain himself.

He glanced around at their group, but no one else seemed to be seeing what he saw.

Damn, how had Kurt never had a boyfriend? How were the other boys not questioning themselves? How were the girls not begging for Kurt to give them a chance, just one?

And most importantly, how had Blaine gotten so _lucky_?

But...oh god...Kurt...wow. He just looked..._wow_.

Okay, this was going to be a...problem.

Because Blaine was suddenly finding it very hard to move.

"Did you see that?" Kurt said enthusiastically, bounding back over to Blaine. "I bowled that one left-handed!"

"Erm, great," Blaine said stiffly. He swallowed, extremely aware of Kurt's proximity to him and the effect it was having on him.

"Are you okay?" Kurt said, giving him a strange look. "You're sweating..."

"No, I'm fine," Blaine said, looking away. He checked the board: there were six more people until his turn. Six more bowls to take care of his...problem. "Will you, um...come here," Blaine said, quickly getting to his feet and pulling Kurt with him.

"Uh, be right back," Kurt said, but no one heard him. "Blaine, where are we going?"

Blaine ignored him, speed-walking towards the game room.

"Blaine wha-" Kurt tried to say, but Blaine stopped him by pushing him forcefully up against the crane machine, smashing their mouths together.

"Blaine, holy...holy crap..." Kurt panted, once Blaine released his mouth and moved onto his neck. He moaned as Blaine nipped his ear lobe and clumsily began untucking his shirt. "Wha-"

Blaine moaned as he grabbed Kurt's hand and ghosted it over the bulge in his pants.

"Oh...I guess I should have figured that out," Kurt said as Blaine slipped a hand up his shirt. "Blaine, we need to stop," he hissed. "Someone could see us..."

"There's no one here," Blaine growled, moving back down his neck. "And besides," he said in a low, gravelly voice, "You need to be punished. You look downright indecent in those jeans...do you have any idea what you look like tonight? What it's doing to me? I swear I saw those guys give you the once-over more than a few times..."

"Eep," was all Kurt could manage to squeak as Blaine reached around to squeeze his ass.

"Kurt Hummel, you are so damn sexy," Blaine growled grabbed Kurt's hand, leading him further in to the darkened, abandoned arcade. "Do you know that?"

"I'm slowly learning," Kurt panted, and suddenly Blaine was on his knees. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sucking your dick," Blaine said simply, quickly unfastening Kurt's belt buckle. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"You can't do that here!" Kurt hissed, but it was becoming harder and harder to protest, the way Blaine was kissing and palming through his underwear. "What if someone comes looking for us?"

"You worry too much," Blaine breathed, pulling down Kurt's boxers and taking his entire length unceremoniously into his mouth.

"Dear sweet lord," Kurt said, letting his head fall back against the game behind him.

Blaine was gripping his hips tightly, probably leaving bruises, but Kurt didn't mind; he tried to keep his noise to a minimum as he twisted his fingers into Blaine's hair.

He was just reaching a climax when Blaine pulled away.

"No, no no..." Kurt whined. "Blaine that's not fair..."

But Blaine only grinned mischeviously as he stuck one finger in his mouth, swirled it around, and resumed the blow job.

"Why did you-_holysweethell_," Kurt hissed, as Blaine's plan became painfully evident: he used his one wet finger to trace around Kurt's entrance, which made Kurt bob up on the balls of his feet, bringing Blaine with him. "Blaine Anderson, I swear to all that is holy, if you make me scream and I get us caught, I will not touch you below the waist ever again!"

"I think it's worth it to hear you scream," Blaine growled, and Kurt shuddered. He took Kurt back into his mouth and sucked for all he was worth; Kurt's head was spinning.

"Oh, Blaine, Blaine..." he whined, pushing his hips forward. "I'm so...I'm close..."

Blaine nodded and hummed in one short spurt, and suddenly Kurt was coming into Blaine's hot, wet mouth.

"Holy shit, Blaine," Kur breathed, sliding down the side of the game console once Blaine had released him. "How do you _do_ that?"

Blaine shrugged, touching their foreheads together. "Natural talent?"

"Someone's cocky," Kurt said, still panting.

"Nice choice of words," Blaine snickered, and Kurt punched his shoulder.

"Come on, we'd better get back," Kurt said. "Although with Puckerman out there, I doubt that they haven't figured out where we've disappeared to..."

And sure enough, as they made their way back to the group, hand-in-hand, they were greeted by sly stares and one smirking Santana. "How was the bathroom, boys?"

This time it was Kurt who blushed.

* * *

><p>After bowling, the group decided to go out for pizza-there was a pizzeria down the street, and it was a nice evening, so they decided to walk.<p>

Kurt was content on walking in the middle of the group, but Blaine tugged his hand, insistent on hanging back a little.

"What's up?" Kurt asked, that familiar flutter occupying his stomach as Blaine threaded their fingers.

"Not much," Blaine said, bumping their shoulders together. "You know, I love you, the usual..."

Kurt laughed, bumping back. "I love you too."

They lapsed into thoughtful silence, and Blaine once again began brooding over what was taking up so much of his mind lately-the future. He took a deep breath. "Kurt, do you-?"

But he was interrupted.

"Hey lovebirds!" Puck was shouting, one hand holding open the heavy glass door to the restaurant, the other holding Lauren's hand. "Hurry up, will ya? My arm can't hold all day!"

Kurt rolled his eyes and quickened his pace, pulling a now slightly-downtrodden Blaine behind him.

After placing the order for the table, Kurt became engaged in conversation with Rachel over some Broadway show, and Finn leaned across the table to talk to Puck and Lauren about football or something. Santana and Brittany were smiling and giggling into each other's ears, while Sam and Mike engaged in an arm-wrestling match as Mercedes and Tina rooted for their respective boyfriends...which left Blaine idly twiddling his thumbs and staring at the cieling.

After a moment, his gaze fell on the door, where a bank of quarter-machines offering gumballs, tattoos, and fake mustaches was proudly displayed.

Oh, and there was a jewelery machine too.

Blaine felt one corner of his mouth tug upwards, and he wandered over to the machines without drawing too much attention to himself.

Blaine sat patiently, waiting, throughout dinner, his prize nestled safe and sound in his pocket. He laughed with Kurt and Rachel, argued with Finn over the Buckeyes, and chatted with Sam about the newest Potter movie. Finally, just as they were about to leave, Blaine leaped up to help Kurt out of his seat. He waited until the gang was spilling out onto the sidewalk before letting go of Kurt's hand and spinning in front of him, dropping to one knee.

"Blaine, wha-" Kurt began, but Blaine held up a hand to silence him as the rest of the group watched from behind Kurt, looking on with interest.

"Kurt," Blaine began, and reached out to take one of Kurt's hands. Kurt raised an eyebrow and obliged, letting Blaine clasp his hand to his heart. "I love you more than words can say. You're beautiful, and wonderful, and perfect. You're everything, Kurt, and...I love you." He pulled one hand away, digging in his pocket for the plastic sphere he had been hoarding. He popped the clear half off, and presented the red plastic cup to Kurt, a tiny plastic ring nestled inside.

Kurt let out a laugh, his eyes shining. He covered his mouth in shock, half-joking and half really and truly touched. After a moment of silence (in which the girls, most specifically Rachel, looked back and forth between the boys and their boyfriends with a mixture of jealousy and oh-my-god-that's-so-cute), Kurt tugged Blaine to his feet. "Come here, you goober," he said, and pulled him into a hug. "I love you," he said in Blaine's ear, and pulled back to kiss his cheek. "Thank you," he said, and took the ring from Blaine to the sound of applause, laughter, and a chorus of 'aw's from the group behind him.

Blaine just grinned, taking Kurt's hand once more and swinging them. Phase one: complete.

* * *

><p>Blaine's birthday was a week later, and Kurt had cooked up an excellent plan, which he refused to divulge to Blaine, much to his boyfriend's frustration.<p>

"Where are we goooooooing?" Blaine whined for what seemed like the fiftieth time. Kurt just smiled and turned the radio up louder, choosing to ignore him rather than reply with yet another "I'm not telling, so just sit back and shut up".

After half an hour of driving outside of familiar Lima, Blaine had absolutely no idea where they were going. The road had turned curvy somewhere after one of the many junctions they had encountered, and it was lined with trees, whizzing by as Kurt manuevered what was clearly (to him, anyway) a familiar road.

Finally, with their trip nearing an hour and with Blaine no closer to figuring out where they were going, Kurt turned onto a dirt road, bringing them under an arching sign that read 'Greener's Grove'.

"Okay, either we're in some painfully cliched romantic comedy, or..." Blaine said, and Kurt laughed.

"Or what?"

"...or we're in a painfully cliched horror movie and we're about to get murdered by twisted-insest-cannibals."

Kurt laughed harder, his head. "'Fraid not," he said, "Althought I suppose you could consider our lives a romantic comedy...an untraditional one."

"But the best one I've ever seen," Blaine said, and Kurt turned to grin at him as they pulled up beside a...security booth?

"Hey Greta," Kurt said, flashing a smile at the older woman in the booth. The woman-Greta, Blaine assumed-perked up. She had curly gray hair and a comforting southern accent.

"Well I'll be! Kurt Hummel, it's been a while since we've seen you around here!"

Kurt laughed. "It's been a busy year, but today's a special occasion..." Kurt leaned, back, gesturing to Blaine. "This is Blaine, my boyfriend," he said, and Blaine's heart leapt. He would never get used to that. "It's his birthday."

"Well happy birthday, and nice to meet you, Blaine!" Greta said, and Blaine smiled and waved.

"Thank you," he said. "Nice to meet you too!"

"I won't keep you any longer," Greta said, chuckling a little. "Kurt here's practically shakin' with anticipation."

Blaine grinned like he knew what he should be excited for.

"See you later, Greta!" Kurt called, and pulled away from the booth.

They drove for a little longer along the shady dirt road, Blaine become more and more mystified the farther they went. Eventually, a medium-sized cabin came into view. There were a few cars parked out front, and attached was a huge paddock, surrounded by a wooden fence. Behind the cabin, Blaine could see another building, and several...

Horses.

Oh _God_.

Blaine felt his heart stop. _Horses_? Kurt was taking him _horse-back riding_? For his _birthday_?

No. No, no, no. Why would he _do_ that?

_Then again_, Blaine thought, _he doesn't know_. It had never come up, the fact that Blaine had a crippling fear-was _terrified-_-of horses.

"...Blaine?"

Blaine started, rousing himself from his spiraling pit of terror.

"What?" he half-shouted, and Kurt laughed.

"Come on," he said, reaching across to unbuckle Blaine, and then skipping around the car to open his door.

He waited a moment before offering his hand to Blaine, who forced a smile, which Kurt genuinely returned.

"I used to take lessons here," Kurt was saying, leading Blaine into the cabin, which evidently was some sort of office. "It's run by this charming couple-Greta and Grimm Greener. I used to come riding every weekend, but then my Dad got sick and stuff started happening, and I just...didn't have time anymore. Have you ever ridden before?"

"Erm," Blaine said, pulling his collar aside with one hand. He had ridden, once, and it had been terrifying. He'd been far too scared to go faster than a walk, and the snap of the reins on another horse had startled his into a gallop, and Blaine, being only seven, had fallen. He'd been fine, but it was still really scary. And to top it all off, once his parents had calmed him down enough to get his picture with the stupid horse, the dumb thing had started eating his hair.

Needless to say, it had scarred him for life.

Naturally, he'd screamed and fled to the bathroom, where he remained for upwards of twenty minutes before his parents could coax him out with promises of ice cream and Disney movies.

But all Blaine said was, "Yeah, once. A long time ago."

It must have come out wierd, though, because Kurt was giving him a strange look. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah!" Blaine said at once, his voice climbing an octave. "Fine! Peachy!"

Kurt continued giving him a look until the man behind the desk called "Next!"

"Hi Grimm," Kurt sang, and the older man grinned.

"Kurt!" he said, "What a pleasant surprise!"

Kurt grinned. "This is my boyfriend Blaine," he said, and Blaine's stomach fluttered again. "It's his birthday."

"Well happy birthday, and nice to meet you!" Grimm said, reaching a hand across. Blaine shook it as best he could, his hands trembling slightly. Grimm turned back to Kurt and looked down at the paper in front of him. "Hm...Lightning and Rico are in," he said.

"Excellent!" Kurt said. "Thanks Grimm!"

Grimm smiled handing the boys two riding helmets from underneath the counter. Kurt handed one to Blaine and lead him outside, into the paddock.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kurt said once they were in the stable, strolling along and looking for Lightning and Rico.

"Y-yeah," Blaine said, but Kurt cut him off.

"Here they are!" he said brightly, gesturing to two adjoining stalls. One read 'Lightning' and held a white horse, and the other said 'Rico' and housed a black and brown patched horse. Kurt opened the door to both and trotted up to Rico, leaving Blaine with...Lightning.

Blaine swallowed-or attempted to-past the lump in his throat. He looked over at Kurt, who was already seated in the saddle atop Rico, and was adjusting the reins. He looked back at Lightning. Back at big, terrifying Lightning, who stared right back.

"...Blaine?" Kurt said. He was giving him that funny look again.

Great.

"Do you know how to get on?" Kurt laughed, sliding gracefully off of Rico and walking around the partition into Lightning's stall. "I'll help you."

"Ok-kay," Blaine stammered, and allowed himself to be pushed forward by Kurt.

"Here," Kurt said, one arm around Blaine's waist. He pointed to a ledge jutting out from the side of the stall. "Put your foot on that..." Blaine did so. "And swing your other leg over his back."

Blaine hesitated.

"Don't worry, babe," Kurt said. "I won't let you fall!" He held out his hand. "Use me for support if you want."

Blaine took his hand, but didn't move.

"...Blaine?" Kurt said again, after a moment.

"I'm scared," Blaine squeaked.

"What?"

"I'm scared," Blaine said, almost shouted, and dropped his eyes to the floor. "I'm afraid of horses."

When Kurt didn't answer, Blaine chanced a peek at him.

Kurt looked...he looked a combination of horrorstruck and heartbroken. But why?

"What?" Blaine said, immediately backtracking. "What's wrong?"

"I...I didn't know!" Kurt said. "Oh, Blaine, I didn't know you were scared, I never would have brought you here...I just assumed, I...I'm sorry, I'm ruining your birthday. I knew I should have asked, I-"

Blaine cut him off by putting his hands on his shoulders and kissing him. "Hush," Blaine said. "You didn't know. It's okay." He glanced back at Lightning, and back at Kurt, who was looking longingly at Rico. Maybe he could do this. Maybe he could be brave for Kurt. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if...

"Well, let's go, I guess," Kurt said, a little sadly.

"No, wait," Blaine said, hopping down from the ledge. "I think I want to ride...as long as I can ride with you."

Kurt opened his mouth and hesitated. "Are you sure, Blaine? You don't have to if you're scared...it's your birthday, after all..."

"All I want for my birthday is _you,_" Blaine said, leaning close. "And I'm fairly confident that I have that, so...why not try conquering a fear?"

"Courage," Kurt teasted, and Blaine rolled his eyes.

"So...let's do this, I guess."

Kurt clapped his hands giddily. "Hooray! You're going to love it, Blaine, I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you!" he said as he tugged Blaine back into Rico's stall. "I'll get on first, and then pull you up."

"O...kay..." Blaine said, nervous once again as he stared up at the horse which, from his height, looked positively enormous.

All to soon, Kurt was perched gracefully on Rico's back, offering a hand down to Blaine. "Now step on the ledge, good, and just let me help you up."

Blaine stepped hesitantly onto the ledge and took Kurt's hand. "I'm not so sure-" he started, but before he could get it out, Kurt gave a tug and Blaine found himself swinging over Rico's backside, suddenly straddling him and pressed right into Kurt's back.

Okay, so maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

Until they started moving.

Kurt sqeezed Rico with his knees, and the horse stepped forward a few feet before Blaine gave an almighty _screech_ of terror and Kurt jerked back on the reins.

"What? What happened?" he said as he twisted around, his eyes wide.

"It...moved!" Blaine said, clutching the back of Kurt's shirt like his life depended on it. And in this particular position, it probably did.

"Well, yes Blaine, movement is generally involved with horseback riding..."

Blaine said nothing, just continued to look down at the ground-which suddenly seemed very, _very_ far away-and try to return his breath to a normal pace.

"Are you okay?" Kurt said softly, squeezing one of Blaine's knees. It shot tingles up Blaine's thigh, and suddenly he wasn't so scared anymore.

"Yeah..." he said after a moment. "Just...don't go too fast, okay?"

"I promise," Kurt said, crossing his heart. "Hold on tight!"

That was something that Blaine had no problem doing. He scooted forward on the seat, snaking his arms around Kurt's impossibly tiny waist, and clasping his hands in a death grip somewhere around Kurt's bellybutton. He pressed his face into Kurt's back, peppering his spine and shoulders with kisses as Kurt nudged the horse again.

Blaine let his eyes fall shut as they crossed from the stable into the warm sunshine; it was nearing August, and there were only a few weeks left of summer. It had been...a crazy summer, that's for sure..._but it's not over yet_, Blaine thought with a grin, and inhaled deeply, getting a headful of summer-almost-fall-sunshine-and-outside scented air tinged with fabric softener and some cologne he didn't know the name of and _Kurt._ He smiled wider and scooted closer.

When Blaine opened his eyes a few minutes later, the scenery had changed completely-they were out-of-sight of the cabin, now, trotting through the dappled shade of the trees. Rico's hooves made soft thumping noises, bouncing the two boys a little with each step, and Kurt was humming softly under his breath.

"_It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside_," Blaine sang catching the tune almost immediately. "_I'm not one of those who can easily hide...I don't have much money, but if I did, I'd buy a big house where we both could live._.."

"I thought you'd fallen asleep back there," Kurt said, laughing a little, turning his head ever so slightly to look at Blaine.

"Why would I ever waste a moment of my perfect time with you by sleeping?" Blaine said, pressing a kiss to Kurt's shoulder and continuing the song, but skipping a few lines. _"My gift is my song and this one's for you..._"

"_You can tell everybody that this is your song_," Kurt sang before Blaine had a chance to. "_It may be quite simple but now that it's done..."_

"_I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words...how wonderful life is, now that you're in the world_," Blaine sang with a sigh, tightening his arms around Kurt and resting his chin on his shoulder.

They rode along the path for a few more minutes before rounding a corner and reaching a stretch of wooden fence. Kurt directed Rico up to the fence and stopped him. "We're gonna tether him here and walk for a bit, 'kay?" he said, twisting around once more.

"Okay," Blaine said, reluctantly letting go of him and scooting away.

"Uh, Blaine?"

"Yeah Kurt?"

"You have to get off first," Kurt chuckled, and Blaine looked at the ground in absolute horror.

"But...it's so...far!"

"Just be careful," Kurt said. "Swing your leg over and just kind of...slide."

Blaine swallowed hesitantly, clutching the back of Kurt's shirt as he swung his leg over and clumsily slid off the horse.

"Good job," Kurt said, sliding off immediately after and landing gracefully beside Blaine. He lead Rico over to the fence and looped the reins around the top post, pulling them into a tight not. He unclipped his helmet, hooking it over one of the fence posts, then held out his hand for Blaine's helmet.

Once it was taken care of, Kurt took Blaine's head and lead him along the path, which had narrowed considerably, clearly a people-only trail now.

Blaine reached across his body to put both of his hands around Kurt's, leaning into his shoulder and resting his head on Kurt's shoulder.

"I love you," Blaine said, just as Kurt blurted out, "Do you ever think about the future?"

Blaine pulled his head up, taking his far hand back. "What?"

Kurt blushed. "I...sorry, I shouldn't bring this up on your birthday."

Blaine blinked. "Bring what up?"

"You know...the future."

Blaine grinned as happiness pooled in his stomach. "Like marriage?" he started to say, but Kurt interrupted him yet again by saying, "You know, college and stuff."

Blaine's heart sank. "Oh...yeah."

"See? I shouldn't have said anything. Forget it." Kurt blushed deeper, dropping his eyes to the ground.

But now that it had been brought up, Blaine couldn't let it go. He'd put all this thought into their relationship and getting married and their life together...but he'd thought hardly at all about college or anything...what if they didn't go to the same school? What if they ended up across the country? What if..._what if they broke up?_

"...Blaine?" Kurt said, and with a start Blaine realized he'd been hyperventilating and...squeezing the life out of Kurt's hand.

"Oh..." Blaine said sheepishly, loosening his grip. "Sorry, I-"

"I'm sorry I brought it up," Kurt said softly. "I just...worry sometimes."

Blaine looked up at Kurt, directly into those perfectly round, gorgeously blue eyes that were sparkling like diamonds in the afternoon light. Blaine felt his knees go weak and his brain go fuzzy; no, _no one_ as beautiful and kind and perfect as Kurt, and certainly no one with those eyes, should ever have to worry about anything ever, and Blaine felt a physical need to alleviate those fears and worries and just make Kurt forget them so he could be happy always. That was what he deserved: happiness always.

"No," Blaine said, pulling to a stop and cupping Kurt's face with his free hand. ."You shouldn't worry, Kurt. Everything's going to be fine. You know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I love you," Blaine said, his hand sliding down to Kurt's neck to touch their foreheads together. "And that's all we need, okay? We can get through anything as long as we have that."

Kurt smiled softly, pressing against Blaine's forehead in such a way as to rock him back on his heels. "You're such a cheeseball," he teasted.

"But you love it," Blaine said with a grin, happy because Kurt was happy, because he wasn't worrying anymore.

"I do," Kurt said, and grinned mischievously. "Race you," he said, taking a step forward.

"...to where?" Blaine asked, looking around the unfamiliar landscape.

"You'll see!" Kurt said, and took off down the path, leaving Blaine in the dust.

"Hey!" Blaine called, beginning to run. "That's no fair!"

"Wee!" Kurt sang, spreading his arms like wings and spinning in a circle, careful to keep his lead over Blaine. "You'll never catch me!"

Blaine laughed, his sides already aching as he pushed himself to catch up with Kurt, but evidently his boyfriend was some kind of secret track star or something, because Kurt was just pulling farther and farther ahead.

Suddenly, Kurt vanished around a curve in the path.

"Kurt?" Blaine called cautiously, slowing to a walk as he too rounded the corner...and his jaw dropped.

It was a perfect little clearing, like something out of a story book. A tiny little waterfall of sorts fed off a stream trickling down a gentle slope, the sun reflecting, bright and harsh, off the sheer surface of the pond that Kurt was sitting cross-legged at, pulling his socks off and tossing them to his shoes, abandoned on the ground behind him.

"Wow," Blaine breathed, falling to sit beside Kurt and taking his shoes and socks off.

Kurt scooted along the edge of the pond to lean against Blaine and nudge Blaine's leg with his toes under the crystal clear water. "Told you I'd win," he said, and Blaine laughed.

"Your legs are longer," Blaine said, leaning his head into Kurt's. "Love you."

"Love you more," Kurt giggled, and Blaine leaned forward to splash him with water. Kurt shrieked as the icy droplets hit him.

"You'll pay for that, Anderson!" he cried, skidding his open palm across the gilded surface and sending up a spray right into Blaine's face.

"Yaaaah!" Blaine shouted, nimbly twisting around and knocking Kurt to the ground. He straddled Kurt, his knees digging into the ground on either side of him, Kurt's feet still in the water.

He put his hands on either side of Kurt's head and leaned down to him. "And now you're trapped."

"Eh, I've seen scarier things," Kurt said, trailing his hands up Blaine's back and leaning up to kiss him. "You're lucky it's your birthday," he said into his ear, "otherwise I would never let a shirt like this touch the ground."

"The sacrifices we make for love," Blaine said softly, rolling off Kurt and laying on his back beside him. He took a deep breath. "_...the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song, it's for people like you that keep it turned on..._" he turned his head, looking at Kurt, who was looking right back. "_So excuse my forgetting, but these things I do, you see, I've forgotten if they're green or if they're blue-_-" ha, as if he could ever forget such a beautiful sight as Kurt's eyes, but that was how the song went-"_anyway, the thing is, what I really mean...yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen._"

Blaine didn't really know how long the two of them spent on the ground in that clearing, but he _did_ know that it was one of the best birthdays he'd ever had.

* * *

><p>Kurt really did spend a lot of time worrying, though.<p>

It was probably natural; he was fast approaching his senior year, after all, and that meant graduating, and that meant going off to college and leaving his friends, and _that_ meant maybe leaving _Blaine_, and _that_ meant...well, he didn't really want to think about what that meant.

Sure, the two of them had talked about it, and they were both pretty set on New York, but...things could change, especially when those things come from the mouth of two head-over-heels teenagers in the wee hours of the morning after having spent a glorious night at prom...and after...

But he loved Blaine. _God,_ did he love Blaine. Sometimes it felt as if he was going to break apart at the seams, positively burst with love for the perfect boy that, for whatever reason, felt the same way about him.

And the very thought of losing him was the scariest thing Kurt could imagine.

* * *

><p>A week after Blaine's birthday, as Kurt labled his binders in preparation for school and Blaine lay on his stomach reading a magazine, Blaine sat up abruptly.<p>

"I need your help," he said.

"Okay..." Kurt said in surprise. "With what?"

"I need to go back to my Mom's and get my stuff," he said. "I tried calling the past few days, but no one would answer, and...I don't want to go alone."

"Oh," Kurt said, tossing the binder in his hands to the floor and wrapping Blaine in a hug. "Of course, honey, of course I'll go with you. Now?"

"Yeah," Blaine said sadly. "If you're not busy..." his eyes lingered on the .binder.

"No," Kurt said quickly, scooping up the binder. "Just let me get my shoes."

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later, the boys were pulling up outside the familiar apartment building, anxiety bubbling in Kurt's stomach. The last time he'd met Blaine's dad had not been...pleasant, to say the least, but he needed to be strong, for Blaine, so he took the initiative and opened his door first.<p>

They walked into the building silently. They rode up to the appropriate floor silently. They walked down the hall. Silently.

And knocked.

After a moment, a door to the apartment next door opened and a man stepped out. He turned to lock his door, and glanced back at Kurt and Blaine.

"You boys sure you got the right apartment?"

"Yeah," Blaine said, exchanging a glance with Kurt. "Um...I have relatives here."

The man let out a breath, running a hand over his hair, which was thinning. "Christ, I...well, the man who was living there got carted off about, oh, I dunno, a week and a half ago? And the lady...no one's seen her around since."

"Carted...carted off where?" Blaine asked, reaching for Kurt's hand without a second thought.

"Jail, I s'ppose," the man said with a shrug. "He and the lady got in an awful fight down in the lobby the other day, and he started hittin' her, and the front desk called 911, and the cops came and took him away. She disappeared about two days after that."

"...oh," Blaine said. Kurt didn't really know what to say.

"They were relatives, you say?"

"Yeah."

"They kept a key in that plant down there," the man said, nodding towards a plant in the corner of the hall. "Good luck."

"Thank you, sir," Kurt called, and turned to Blaine. "...Blaine?" he said tentatively, for Blaine had not moved. "Are you okay?"

"Y...yeah," Blaine said. "I...I just can't believe they would just...leave like that. And not say anything."

Words stuck in Kurt's throat; what was he supposed to say in a time like this; what _could_ he say? "I..." was all he could manage before Blaine sighed.

"Let's go in, I guess," he said, moving to retrieve the key from the plant.

As expected, the apartment was empty. More than empty, actually; abandoned. The furniture was all there, but all personal touches, all evidence that a family have ever lived there at all...was gone.

Blaine lead the way to his bedroom, which seemed untouched since he'd last been there. The bed was unmade, shoes piled by the door, closet standing ajar. Blaine placed a hand on the doorframe, frozen, his knees weak.

Kurt took it upon himself to pack up. He whizzed about the room, folding and sorting, shoving clothes and books into the bags and boxes buried in the back Blaine's closet.

Twenty minutes later, when he was finished, Blaine still had not moved. Kurt moved past him, left the apartment and retrieved a luggage cart. Stacked the boxes on the cart.

Without a word, Blaine lunged forward, burying his face in Kurt's chest.

Kurt's shirt was soaked through within seconds.

* * *

><p><strong>Endus chaptersevenus! I hope you liked it...not much longer left to go! Only one or two more chapters...not worry though, lovelies, I have a bunch of other plots rattling around in my head, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon :]<strong>

**Reviews are always appreciated and make my day, whether they're here or on tumblr...hugs and kisses!**

**. :]**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone! I saw that a few of you noticed that I left Quinn and Artie out of the bowling scene-I did that on purpose, mostly because neither of them were really in a relationship at the end of season 2, and a) I wanted it to be a...however many couple date kinda thing, and b) I felt uncomfortable writing them into the scene given the way I'd put everyone else in there. Does that make sense? Sorry for the confusion (good to know you all are paying attention!) :]**

* * *

><p>Stuff with Blaine's parents had always been...sticky, to say the least, but Kurt had never seen things this bad. At worst, Blaine would lay around for a few hours, but eventually he would let Kurt drag him downstairs to bake a cake, or cuddle on the couch, or go out for lunch, but now...he just...lay there. Face down on the bed, the only sign of life the gentle rise and fall of his chest.<p>

And no matter what, Kurt couldn't shake him. No matter how many times he stroked his hair, whispered "I love you" and "everything will be okay", no matter what he offered, Blaine just...lay there.

So after a while, Kurt stopped trying. Blaine would talk when he wanted to, and all Kurt could do was be there when he did.

So Kurt took to sitting cross-legged on the bed, magazine in his lap and hand on Blaine's shoulder.

After two and a half days of Blaine not leaving at all, Kurt knew they needed an intervention. So when he woke up on the third day, he trotted down to the kitchen, fixed a huge breakfast (cereal, toast, eggs, bacon, an english muffin, and a bagel alongside glasses of orange juice, milk, and coffee. He wanted variety, hoping something would catch Blaine's fancy), arranged it on a tray, and carried it up to the bedroom.

Quietly, he nudged open the door and set the tray on the desk, then walked around the bed to kneel in front of Blaine, who looked at him, past him, through him, with half-open eyes.

Kurt sat quietly for a moment, before bringing a hand to rest on Blaine's cheek. Blaine squeezed his eyes shut, a few stray tears leaking out, and pulled a hand from under the covers to place a hand on top of Kurt's.

"I just..." Blaine said, with great effort, before he trailed off.

"Shh," Kurt cooed. "I know, honey, it's okay." He brushed the pad of his thumb lightly over the corner of Blaine's mouth. After a few silent moments, he added, "But you need to get out of bed. I made you breakfast."

"Not hungry," Blaine said, trying to turn his head away, but Kurt held him in place. "Blaine," he said firmly. "I love you, and I know you're upset; I can't even imagine what this must be like for you. But you need to get up. It's not healthy for you to just lay here and not eat or bathe or anything." He twisted one of Blaine's limp curls between his fingers and let it flop pitifully back onto Blaine's forehead. Even his hair was sad.

Blaine opened his eyes, looking up at Kurt with heartbreaking hazel eyes. "I don't want to eat right now...but will you take a bath with me?"

Kurt hesitated. That wasn't exactly what he had intended...

"No," Blaine said, picking up immediately. "Just...take a bath with me. I don't want to be alone."

"Okay," Kurt said, giving in at once. "I'll go get it started," he said, hopping to his feet and into the bathroom.

He'd taken enough showers with Blaine to know how he liked the water-upwards of warm, but not scalding like Kurt liked it. As the water thundered from the tap, Kurt added bubbles-lots of them. Because nothing's better than a bubble bath when you're sad, and Blaine was definitely sad.

Once the tub was full, Kurt returned to the bedroom. Blaine had moved to the edge of the bed, and Kurt noticed with relief that a few bites of the toast were missing.

"Um...it's ready," Kurt said softly, and Blaine looked up. He stood up with a sigh, removing his shirt in one fluid motion.

Kurt would never get used to Blaine's body, to the fact that it was so perfectly his, even at times like now, when being naked wasn't about sex, it was just about being together.

Blaine paused, looking at Kurt uncertainly.

"...what?" Kurt asked after a self-concious moment.

Blaine blushed a little. "I was, um...I was just wondering if I could be the little spoon..."

Kurt's heart filled with warm affection for the absolutely_ perfect_ boy before him. He smiled softly. "Of course," he said, and began undressing. Blaine followed suit, unable to stop a content little smile from creeping onto his face. When Kurt was finished, he slid into the tub, leaning himself against the cool porcelain curve, and looked at Blaine expectantly, who followed at once, leaning his back against Kurt's chest. He rested his arms on Kurt's, which were resting along the edges of the tub, and wound their fingers together, letting his head drop back onto Kurt's shoulder.

"I'm just...so...tired," Blaine said on an exhale.

Kurt leaned his cheek against Blaine's head. "I know, babe, I know."

Blaine turned his head to brush his nose against Kurt's neck. "But I love you. You're perfect."

Kurt smiled softly at Blaine's breath wafting across his neck. "You must be rubbing off on me." He felt Blaine laugh against him.

After a few silent minutes, Blaine whispered, "What am I going to do, Kurt?"

Kurt remained silent for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"My parents are _gone_, Kurt. They left me. Like they didn't even...like they don't even _care_ about me."

All at once, Kurt felt his heart shatter into a million billion pieces. "Blaine..."

"It's true, Kurt!" Blaine said, and Kurt could hear the tears already choking his voice. He moved his hands from the rim of the tub to wrap them around Blaine's body, hugging him closer and resting his chin on Blaine's shoulder. "They don't want me, so they left me. They just...left."

"Sh," Kurt cooed, tightening his arms once more to encourage Blaine to let it out. "It's okay, Blaine. It's okay to be upset, I'm right here."

So Blaine cried. He cried and cried and cried-sobbed, actually, and Kurt did his best to comfort him by peppering his neck with kisses and just listening. By the time Blaine started calming down, the bubbles had dispersed and the water was growing colder by the minute.

"Let's get out, okay?" Kurt suggested, as Blaine was shivering. Perhaps from all the crying, but maybe from the water. "We can talk in the bedroom."

Blaine nodded his agreement, teeth chattering and his breath still coming in gasps. He stood on the bath mat, arms wrapped around himself and shivering as Kurt rushed to retrieve two towels for them. Tenderly, he draped one over Blaine's shoulders, kissing his nose in the process. Blaine offered up a small, watery smile, and followed Kurt into the bed room.

They climbed under Kurt's navy covers without bothering to get dressed; they lay chest to chest, Kurt's arms around Blaine and Blaine's hands between their hearts.

"I love you so much, Blaine," Kurt began, pressing the tip of his nose into Blaine's hair. "And I hate seeing you this upset, because I don't know what to do...I don't know what I _can_ do."

"You're doing enough," Blaine whispered. "Just...this. This is good enough for me."

"But I need to do so much more for you, Blaine. You are a _wonderful_ person, and you don't deserve this. You don't deserve what your parents did to you, Blaine, and...we _are_ going to work this out, Blaine. We will." A silent moment passed. "Do you remember when you were sick? Really sick? When you were in the hospital and wouldn't wake up?"

Blaine nodded, his hair tickling the bottom of Kurt's chin.

"That was one of the worst things that's ever happened to me, Blaine. I don't know if I've ever been so scared in my entire life, and I wasn't sure if I would ever get through it-if _we_ would ever get through it. But we did. And I know we can get through this too."

"Thank you, Kurt," Blaine said, and Kurt thought he could hear tears again. "For everything."

* * *

><p>The next morning, while Blaine slept in, Kurt filled Burt and Carole in on the situation. Burt looked dumbstruck and Carole began to cry, and of course it was okay for Blaine to stay with him, as long as he needed.<p>

"Thanks, guys," Kurt said, and Burt clapped him on the shoulder.

"Blaine's a good kid, Kurt, and what you two have is special," he said, making his way out of the kitchen as Carole began cleaning up the breakfast things.

"Thanks, Dad," Kurt said, placing his hand over his father's. "Oh, and Carole, you can leave that stuff out. I was going to make something for Blaine."

"Sure thing, kiddo," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek and following Burt out.

After a moment more at the table, mulling everything over, Kurt made his way over to the stove, collecting the necessary omelet ingredients. Just as he was dicing peppers to put in it, he heard someone enter the kitchen behind him. He looked over his shoulder: a tousle-haired Blaine stood in the doorway, his phone in one hand, and a shirt he'd clearly put on in a rush twisted around his neck.

"Blaine?"

"Jamie. My Uncle Jamie," Blaine said in a rush, hurrying over to him and grabbing his wrists. "They got a letter from my mom, and they have one for me, too. I need to go, Kurt, I need to see them."

"Of course," Kurt said, dropping the knife back to the counter with a clatter. "I'll go with you!"

Blaine hesitated."What is it?" Kurt asked softly.

"Well...my uncle...he doesn't know that...that I'm gay. My parents never told anyone, they were hoping I'd..." he trailed off and looked up at Kurt. "I think it's best if I just...go alone, and try to gauge the situation first."

"Oh," Kurt said, searching Blaine's face. "I don't want you to have to go alone..."

"Don't worry," Blaine said, pressing a hand and a kiss to Kurt's face. "Uncle Jamie's always been much more level-headed than my Dad. I'll be fine, and I'll see you soon!" And he was gone, leaving Kurt alone by the stove, the bacon in the pan having burned.

* * *

><p>Kurt paced for two hours, glancing at the clock every thirty seconds while Blaine was gone. For the last half hour, Burt, Carole, and Finn had drifted in and out, watched him for a while, said he made them nervous, and left him alone to his pacing.<p>

Finally, at one o clock, Blaine called.

"Blaine!" Kurt said, snatching his phone up from it's perch on the arm of the couch.

"Hi Kurt," Blaine said swiftly. "I just want you to know that I'm okay, great actually, and I'm coming home now, okay? I'll explain everything then. I love you, bye!"

"Love you-" Kurt started to say, but the click on the other end cut him off.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Blaine had returned to the Hummel-Hudson home, a wrinkled envelope clutched in his hand, next to three flowers.<p>

"Hi Kurt," he said, kissing his cheek in greeting and offering up the flowers. "I got these for you."

"Thank you" Kurt said, his eyes following Blaine into the kitchen. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Blaine said, getting a class from the cabinet and filled it with water at the sink. He watched Kurt watch him as he chugged the water, and when it was half empty, he moved to sit at the kitchen table, his back to Kurt so he could face the window over-looking the love garden. "Come sit with me?" he said without turning around, and Kurt obliged, dropping into the chair next to him.

Blaine kept his face forward as he spoke. "My aunt and uncle are moving to Lima," he said, "They got a letter from my mom too." He scooted the crumpled envelope between them across the table towards Kurt, who tenderly picked it up. Blaine watched him from the corner of his eyes as he read.

_To Blaine_, it read, and then the rest in a shaky and hurried scrawl, with what looked like tear stains littering the page.

_You have no idea how much this pains me to right, but I'm sure it's for the best._

_Your father and I, Blaine, we weren't good for you. We weren't much good for each other, either, but you are a better person than the two of us mixed together, and so you deserve better._

_And that's why I left, Blaine, and I'm never coming back. I was a terrible mother, and I wasn't equipped to handle everything life threw at me. And your father, when he gets out...he's leaving too. We're both going far away, away from it all, but I don't want you to blame yourself. We are the bad ones, Blaine. You are a wonderful, beautiful, wholesome person. And you don't deserve any of what we did to you._

_I'm sorry, Blaine, and I hope you can forgive me somewhere down the line. I won't tell you where I'm going, or where I am now. If we meet again some time in the future...I hope it can be a good thing for you. And if not...I'll most certainly understand._

_I love you, Blaine, and I'm sorry._

_Love, Mom._

Kurt stared at the paper a few moments more than necessary before finally looking up at Blaine, who had turned back to the window. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes, and he leaned over to wrap his arms around Blaine.

"I'm so, so sorry, Blaine," he whispered, and felt one of Blaine's hands come to rest on his arm.

"It's not your fault," Blaine replied, his voice shaking. "Maybe she's right. Maybe it is for the best."

Kurt pulled back, keeping his hand on Blaine's shoulder and watching him carefully. "So what now?"

Blaine sighed, running one hand over his hair. "Well, I talked to Uncle Jay. Like, really talked. I told him everything. About getting sick, and about you, and about us...and he said he wants me to move in with them. With him and my Aunt Kathy."

"...oh," was all Kurt said.

"And I think I should."

"...oh."

Blaine looked over at Kurt. "It's not...not because...I just..."

"No," Kurt said, offering up a half-hearted smile. "I understand. They're your family."

"You're not...upset?"

"Well, yeah, I'm a little sad that we won't get to cuddle every night," Kurt said honestly, shrugging. "But Blaine, you should never feel guilty for wanting to be with your family. I understand."

Blaine's face broke into a wide smile. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Kurt said, with a grin of his own. He leaned over to kiss Blaine softly on the mouth. "So...when are you moving in?"

"They'll be moving in within the next few days-they're only moving from Cleveland. So sometime next week, I guess."

_So we still have time together_, Kurt thought, but said, "Great. I'll help you."

Blaine smiled even wider and squeezed Kurt's hand. "You're the best boyfriend ever."

* * *

><p>A few days later, with no more spoken on the subject of Blaine's parents, as the boys lay in bed one night, Kurt rolled over and said softly, "Blaine?"<p>

"Mmm?" Blaine said, rolling over and draping one arm across Kurt's stomach.

"Are you...upset about your parents? At all?"

Blaine sat up on one elbow, suddenly awake. He opened his mouth, shut it. Thought for a moment. "Why do you ask?"

Kurt shrugged, playing with Blaine's fingers. "You just haven't said much about it."

Blaine flopped back to his stomach. "I mean...yeah, I'm a little upset. They were my parents, you know? But it's like my mom said in her letter...they weren't good for me. And...I didn't...I didn't like living somewhere where I had to be afraid to be myself."

Kurt dropped his fingers, turning his head to look at Blaine on the pillow next to him. "You don't have to be afraid anymore."

"I know," Blaine whispered, a slight smile barely visible in the dark. "But I haven't been truly afraid since I found you."

* * *

><p>The next week, Kurt and Blaine found themselves lugging box after box into Blaine's new home. True to Blaine's word, Jamie and Kathy were wonderful people, and Kathy greeted Kurt with a huge hug and offers of lemonade and dinner once they were finished unpacking. And of course Kurt was welcome anytime.<p>

The unpacking took most of the day, so by the time they finished around seven-thirty, they were all too tuckered out to do much cooking. So Jamie and Kathy offered to make a pizza run.

They boys flopped backwards onto Blaine's bed, side by side and fingertips touching oh-so-slightly.

"Thanks for helping us," Blaine said after a moment, inching closer to Kurt.

"Of course," Kurt said, oblivious to Blaine's advances, as his eyes were closed.

"This is a nice tank top," Blaine said, suddenly in Kurt's ear, and Kurt jumped. Blaine climbed over top of Kurt, straddling him, immediately attaching their mouths. Kurt responded instantly, his hands roving across Blaine's back and under his shirt.

It had been a while since they'd gotten to do anything remotely sexual, and it seemed as if it had gotten a million times better in the hiatus. "How much time do we have?" Kurt said in a gasping voice, pulling his mouth away as Blaine began sucking his neck. Blaine reached down to start undoing Kurt's pants and said, "Don't know, don't care."

"Blaine," Kurt said, grabbing Blaine's wrist in a half-hearted attempt to stop his boyfriend from ravishing him right then and there.

"We have plenty of time, Kurt," Blaine said hastily, sliding his hands under Kurt's shirt and in turn sliding it up and over Kurt's head. He trailed a line of kisses down his neck and down the center of his chest, leaving what felt like a trail of fire in his wake.

Once he reached the waistband on Kurt's underwear, he wasted no time in pulling them down, prompting Kurt to lift his to grant him access.

"Lube," Blaine said, planting kisses on Kurt's pale, perfect thighs over and over. "Bedside drawer."

But the word sparked something in Kurt's mind, something that had been gnawing at him for quite some time."Wait," he said.

"Kurt, we have plenty of time," Blaine said impatiently. "At least forty-five minutes."

"No, that's not it," Kurt said, wiggling away and tugging his underwear back up. "We need to talk."

"Can I at least get you off first?"

Kurt blushed at Blaine's bluntness. "I'm afraid I'll forget."

Blaine sighed, but backed away from Kurt, sitting cross-legged across from him. "Okay," he said. "I'm all ears." But he had to admit, his lower half was getting a little uncomfortable, and his eyes drifted down to Kurt's crotch. He smirked; at least they were in the same boat.

"Okay," Kurt said on a breath. He didn't really know where to begin, so he reached for Blaine's hands. "So...sex...it's nice," he blurted, and Blaine stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"No, stop! I'm being serious!" Kurt said, his face flaming red.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Blaine said, pulling one hand away to wipe the tears of laughter from his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'll be good."

Kurt looked at him reproachfully for a moment before continuing. "So...we've done...a lot..." Kurt said slowly, remembering with a thrill the way his fingers had felt inside of Blaine the night after Blaine's birthday dinner, the way everything that passed between them felt: like pure, unadulterated _passion._

And it was really, really awesome.

Blaine nodded, his fingers inching up Kurt's thigh earnestly.

"And I've kind of been thinking..." Kurt said, trying his best to ignore his boyfriend's wandering hand. "That maybe...we could do more. Like...you know. Go 'all the way'." He made airquotes around "all the way", and it stopped Blaine in his tracks.

A moment of silence passed, in which Kurt grew redder and Blaine tried to calm his pounding heart and willed the head on his shoulders to focus.

"You mean...like...sex? Like...real sex?" Blaine stammered, looking at Kurt in pleasant surprise.

Kurt rolled his eyes, trying to make it seem like no big deal, even though it totally was. "Yes, Blaine, penetration and everything."

"Oh," Blaine said, and leaned back on his hands. Kurt watched him carefully.

"...so?" Kurt prompted after a minute, and Blaine looked back up at him.

"Well I mean...I've thought about it too. A lot," he said, feeling his own cheeks turn pink. It was true, though, that he'd thought about, and he'd definitely had more than one dream where he'd woken up, grinding against a pillow and his underwear slick with precome, the ghosts of Kurt's made-up moans ringing in his ears. Lucky for Blaine, he'd been able to avoid those dreams while at Kurt's house. "Just...wow."

Kurt looked at him expectantly.

"Wait, you meant like...now?" Blaine sputtered, and Kurt's face plunged into the deepest shade of red yet.

"No!" he hissed. "No, not now! Just...eventually. Soon, maybe."

"Okay," Blaine said, nodding, an idea already growing in his mind. "Okay."

"Okay," Kurt repeated, and they looked at each other awkwardly for a moment.

"So...can I..?" Blaine said, already reaching towards Kurt's crotch.

Kurt rolled his eyes and laughed, leaning back on his elbows.

* * *

><p>Two days later, once Blaine and his Aunt and Uncle were settled into their new house, Blaine drove over to Kurt's house, the first time they'd seen each other since the day they moved in.<p>

"Hiya!" Blaine said brightly, as Kurt pulled open the door.

But, um, Kurt looked kind of...well, Kurt looked positively crazy.

His hair was askew, as if he'd been dragging his fingers through it, his clothes were crooked, and his eyes were damp, and Blaine would be slightly suspicious if Kurt didn't throw his arms around Blaine's neck at that moment, wailing and half-sobbing.

"Oh, Blaine, what am I going to do? There are so many choices, what if I make the wrong one? What if we don't end up at the same place? What if-"

"Kurt, whoa, slow down!" Blaine said, prying Kurt from around his neck and holding his boyfriend at arms length. "What's going on?" Kurt shook his head, turning and running up the stairs. Blaine heard his door slam shut a few seconds later.

At that moment, Finn wandered out of the kitchen, Moon Pie in his hand, and surveyed Blaine's bewildered expression with amusement.

"He's been like that since he got back from your house the other day," Finn said thickly, through a mouthful of Pie. "He was looking through all the college stuff he's gotten since freshman year and just lost it."

"Oh," Blaine said with relief. "I thought it was something I'd done."

Finn shrugged. "Maybe you can calm him down," he said, and started away. He paused in the doorway to the living room to add, "And try to get him to eat, will ya? I've only seen him drink coffee in the past coupla days."

"Will do," Blaine said, saluting Finn and heading up the stairs.

"Kurt?" Blaine said, knocking on the door lightly. He tried the knob. Locked. "Babe, open the door."

"I'll never get into a good college!" Kurt wailed, and Blaine rolled his eyes. Kurt could be such a drama queen. "Kurt, let me in, okay?"

He heard sniffles, and a moment later, he heard a click. He opened the door just in time to see Kurt slinking back to a bed that was littered in pamphlets and virtual tour CDs and informational booklets and photos of smiling students and...wow. Holy shit. Blaine could see how Kurt was overwhelmed.

Blaine waded through the madness over to the bed, brushing papers away and sitting beside the quivering lump he knew was his boyfriend. He rubbed small circles on Kurt's back, shhing all the while.

After a few minutes, Kurt's sobs softened to sniffles, and he poked his head out from the blankets. "Don't look at me," he said. "Let me clean myself up first."

Blaine closed his eyes...or, pretended to. He watched Kurt from beneath his lashes, unable to stop himself from opening them as Kurt peeled his pajama top off to replace it.

"Hey!" Kurt said, catching Blaine looking as he glanced over his shoulder. "I told you not to look!" He frantically covered his red, tear-stained face, his shirt hanging open, and felt his way one-handed towards the bathroom.

"Kurt," Blaine said, standing up and grabbing Kurt's wrists. He tugged Kurt's hand away from his face, and looked into his crystal clear eyes. "You are_ beautiful_," he said softly, and kept his eyes on Kurt's as he leaned in and kissed him.

"Now," Blaine said, leading Kurt over to the bed and pulling him onto his lap. "What's going on? What's all this?" He gestured to the sheer chaos that surrounded them.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine's shoulder and buried his face in his neck. "I just...I don't know. I started thinking and I realized, we're _seniors,_ Blaine, we're going to _graduate_ this year and go to college! And...I have no idea where I'm going to school at! And what if we don't go to school together? What if we end up across the country? What if we...what if we break up, Blaine?" he said the last part softly, moving to look up at Blaine.

"Kurt," Blaine said again, hugging him closer. "It's okay for you to be worried about this. Everyone does. I do too,"

"You do?"

"All the time," Blaine nodded. "And as for if we end up at different schools...so what? I love you, and you love me, and I'm in this for the long haul. I'm not going to let a silly thing like distance get in the way of us, Kurt. I want to m-" Blaine stopped himself, his heart racing.

"You want to what?" Kurt said quickly. "You want to what, Blaine?"

"Nothing," Blaine said, the tips of his ears turning red. "Um...do you want some help with this?"

Kurt stared at him for a few seconds before realizing that Blaine wasn't going to let up, and he sighed. "Not today. Let's just...let's just put it away, and I'll deal with it later."

"Okay," Blaine said, tenderly sliding Kurt off of his lap and rubbing his hands together. "Where do we start?"

"Well, I had them alphabetized..."

Blaine chuckled, picking up a handful of brochures. "Alphabetized they shall be, then."

Kurt grinned and wiped his eyes one more time, before getting to his feet and joining his boyfriend.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, horribly, horribly sorry for the delay. School is going CRAZY, so I'm only really able to write on the weekends. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter; I'm trying to wrap things up so we can all move on with our lives (although I will be sad when this story is over). <strong>

**So! Things to expect for next chapter: the eeeevil plans Blaine's been formulating for quite some time (hope you've been paying attention!), and...yeah. That's about it. I purposely saved this last big thing for the last chapter (yes, next chapter is the last one...probably), so I can draw it out as long as I like :] I'll try to get it cranked out in the next two weeks or so...you guys are the best! Reviews make my heart go whee...like super whee! Stay fabulous :]**


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